NFL Week 5 Picks 2023 NFL Predictions Week 5: Chicago Bears 0-4-0 VS Washington Commanders 2-2-0 (-6), Jacksonville Jaguars 2-2-0 VS Buffalo Bills 3-1-0 (-4.5), Houston Texans 2-2-0 VS Atlanta Falcons 2-2-0 (-1.5), Carolina Panthers 0-4-0 VS Detroit Lions 3-1-0 (-10), Tennessee Titans 2-2-0 (-2.5) VS Indianapolis Colts 2-2-0, New York Giants 1-3-0 VS Miami Dolphins 3-1-0 (-11), New Orleans Saints 2-2-0 VS New England Patriots 1-3-0 (-1), Baltimore Ravens 3-1-0 (-4) VS Pittsburgh Steelers 2-2-0, Cincinnati Bengals 1-3-0 (-3) VS Arizona Cardinals 1-3-0, Philadelphia Eagles 4-0-0 (-4) VS Los Angeles Rams 2-2-0, New York Jets 1-3-0 (-1) VS Denver Broncos 1-3-0, Kansas City Chiefs 3-1-0 (-4) VS Minnesota Vikings 1-3-0, Dallas Cowboys 3-1-0 VS San Francisco 49ers 4-0-0 (-2), Green Bay Packers 2-2-0 VS Las Vegas Raiders 1-3-0 (-1.5)















2023 NFL Week 5 Predictions



Dallas heads to San Francisco. Can Brock Purdy cease control of the NFC?





Chris Ransom Last Updated: October 5, 2023.



Chicago Bears 0-4-0
Versus
Washington Commanders 2-2-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


I'll be introducing a brand new segment to Draft Utopia for the Thursday Night Games called Unfiltered Al. It's basically a parody of all the savage things that Al Michaels could say after blowing people out of the water with his comments on Amazon Prime last year.


Unfiltered Al: Welcome to Thursday Night Football. Chicago faces Washington. This is probably going to be the first awful game on Amazon Prime. I brought my hologram afterlife invention it allows me to call an NFL game with someone from the dead which means I can bring John Madden back to the booth and his hologram will call this game with Kirk Herbstreet and myself.


Kirk Herbstreet: That's amazing. John Madden was ahead of his time.


Unfiltered Al: This cannot be any worse than the Bears and Commanders. Time to launch the hologram afterlife invention. I was thinking we could bring Harambe back for the Bengals VS Ravens game in Baltimore later this season.


Kirk Herbstreet: Are you kidding me? Where's that voice coming from?


Hologram John: Brett Favre. Brett Favre.


Unfiltered Al: Looks like the hologram afterlife invention is a success. John Madden can call this game with us from the afterlife. Tonight the Chicago Bears play the Washington Commanders.


Hologram John: You mean the Washington Redskins right? I remember the Redskins had a once proud and storied franchise with quarterbacks like Joe Thiesman and Doug Williams.


Kirk Herbstreet: Washington changed their name to the Football Team. Then people realized that was dumb so they went with the Commanders.


Unfiltered Al: Here's an article stating native americans weren't offended by Redskins which is what the PC media tried to trick people into thinking. I don't have a problem with Madden calling them the Redskins.


Hologram John: Well kickoff is about to start in the Nations capital. Tonights game between the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins is sponsored by Toughactin Tenactin.



Why the Chicago Bears Will Win: Justin Fields enters year three as the Chicago Bears starting quarterback. Chicago has Larry Borom at left tackle for the next three weeks with Braxton Miller going on injured reserve. Cody Whitehair, Chicago's left guard for many years was rumored to kick inside to center, but I'm not sure that happens this week even with Teven Jenkins practicing this week because Braxton Miller is still on injured reserve. Nate Davis the Tennesee Titans starting right guard signed with Chicago in Free Agency, and Darnell Wright rounds out this offensive line after the Chicago Bears drafted the Tennessee right tackle tenth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Chicago's offensive line is a wait and see for Thursday Night Football with Teven Jenkins back.


Chicago has D.J. Moore as their number one flanker wide receiver after trading the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft away to Carolina for D.J. Moore. Darnell Mooney has been the Chicago Bears flanker receiver the last two years, but he moves to a secondary wide receiver role in his contract year. Chase Claypool is now the slot receiver on the Chicago Bears. Equanimeous St. Brown last years slot receiver is now a backup, but he's no longer guaranteed the number four wide receiver job with both 2022 third round pick Velus Jones Jr. out of Tennessee and 2023 fourth round pick Tyler Scott the rookie receiver from Cincinnati on the second team pushing Equanimeous St. Brown for the number four receiver job. Chicago not only has good starters at wide receiver, but also has three other wide receivers that may thrive in depth roles. The two wide receivers that Chicago cannot afford to lose to injuries are D.J. Moore and Darnell Mooney. If Claypool went down, one of the backups might be able to step in as a slot receiver without any drop off in the production of the offense. Chicago added former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Trent Taylor as a number seven wide receiver for depth with him mainly playing on special teams.


Chicago has a special tight end in Cole Kmet who got a contract extension after being a 2020 second round pick out of Notre Dame. Chicago also added Green Bay Packers starting tight end Robert Tonyan Jr. as their backup tight end and Marcedes Lewis, Green Bay's backup tight end in 2022 is now the third string tight end on Chicago. Chicago has Khalil Herbert as their starting running back, D'Onta Foreman Carolina's starting running back after Christian McCaffrey got traded as the backup, and Roschon Johnson the backup to Bijan Robinson at Texas as the third string running back. Travis Homer also made Chicago's roster as a fourth string running back after previously playing with the Seattle Seahawks during his rookie deal.


I love Chicago's depth at running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Chicago doesn't have the depth at the offensive line that you want and if anything happens to Justin Fields, undrafted Free Agent Tyson Bagent will start. What's even worse is that Chicago brought third stringer Nate Peterman back to the 53 man roster after placing Teven Jenkins on injured reserve.


Chicago has Yannick Ngakoue at 4-3 right end and Demarcus Walker complimenting him at 4-3 left end, but both guys are versatile enough to play edge rusher on either side. Justin Jones started all 17 games at 4-3 defensive tackle for Chicago in 2022 with Free Agent signing Andrew Billings who started 14 games with the Las Vegas Raiders complimenting him. Dominique Robinson a 2022 fifth round pick out of Miami Ohio is the backup to Yannick Ngakoue at 4-3 right end while Rasheem Green is the backup to Demarcus Walker at 4-3 left end. Gervon Dexter Sr. Chicago's 2023 second round pick from the Baltimore Ravens in the Roquan Smith trade was a player that I had a first round grade on. Dexter may also have a higher ceiling than current starter Justin Jones. Zacch Pickens was the Chicago Bears 2023 third round pick to kick off the third round out of South Carolina and he's currently the backup to Andrew Billings despite handing Will Levis a sack in the preseason.


Chicago has T.J. Edwards, Philadelphia's 4-3 middle linebacker in 2022 moving to 4-3 right outside linebacker in 2023. Chicago also has Buffalo Bills middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds a top fifteen pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech as their new 4-3 middle linebacker. Jack Sanborn who showed promise taking over for Roquan Smith moves to 4-3 left outside linebacker. The only backup linebacker that I like on Chicago is Noah Sewell, but at least Chicago has some depth at middle linebacker heading into the season as Sewell entered the preseason as the top linebacker in the NCAA a year ago before dropping to the fifth round after Penei Sewell's little brother was once considered a first round prospect. When Chicago runs a nickel defense, Jack Sanborn is the backup outside linebacker with Noah Sewell as the backup middle linebacker.


Chicago has Jaylon Jones at field cornerback, Tyrique Stevenson at boundary cornerback, and Terrell Smith is currently holding the nickel cornerback job thanks to Kyler Gordon's injury as Gordon is on injure reserve for two more weeks. Chicago's 2023 second round pick out of Miami FL did enough this offseason to win the number two cornerback job right out the gate as a rookie over Kyler Gordon a 2022 second round pick out of Washington. Terrell Smith, Chicago's 2023 fifth round pick out of Minnesota is currently the dime cornerback and Smith did so well he took the number four cornerback job from Kindle Vildor who currently began training camp injured before getting cut from the team. Smith got promoted to nickel corner when Kyler Gordon was placed on injured reserve. Jaylon Johnson missed week 4 and with a short week, I can starting both of Chicago's rookie cornerbacks from the 2023 NFL Draft starting in week 5. I don't trust Chicago's depth at safety if something happens to Brisker or if Eddie Jackson gets a season ending injury like he did a season ago in 2022. Eddie Jackson missed the last three weeks after playing in week 1 against Green Bay in 2023.


Chicago has Cairo Santos as their starting kicker. Trenton Gill, Chicago's 2022 seventh round pick out of North Carolina State is the starting punter. Tyler Scott is going to be Chicago's kick returner. Trent Taylor will be Chicago's punt returner. Chicago's special teams could be electric if Tyler Scott can recapture the glory days and magic that Devin Hester brought to the Chicago Bears as a kick returner.


Why the Washington Commanders Will Win: The Washington Commanders have Sam Howell starting with Jacoby Brissett is the backup. Washington has Charles Leno Jr. at left tackle, Saadiq Charles Washington's 2020 fourth round pick out of LSU at left guard thanks to Washington releasing Andrew Norwell to save cap space, Nick Gates the New York Giants backup center is now the starting center on the Washington Commanders, Sam Cosmi Washington's 2021 second round pick out of Texas is moving from right tackle to left guard after playing left tackle at Texas, and Andrew Wylie the right tackle from the Super Bowl 57 Kansas City Chiefs takes over at right tackle being re-united with his offensive coordinator in Kansas City with Eric Bienemy. Ricky Stromberg, Washington's 2023 third round pick is the backup right guard to Sam Cosmi after being a four year starter as the starting center at Arkansas since Tyler Larsen is listed as the backup center to Nick Gates.


Washington has Terry McLaurin as their flanker wide receiver, Jahan Dotson is their secondary wide receiver after being a first round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and Curtis Samuel is the slot receiver. Washington has nice wide receiver depth with Dyami Brown as their number four receiver, Byron Pringle as their number five receiver, and Dax Milne as their number six receiver. Washington's backups could fill in for Curtis Samuel in the slot if he goes down, but the Washington Commanders will be in trouble if anything happens to Terry McLaurin or Jahan Dotson this season.


Washington has Logan Thomas as their starting tight end, John Bates their 2021 draft pick out of Boise State is the backup tight end, and Cole Turner Washington's 2022 fifth round pick at Nevada is the third string tight end. Logan Thomas missed the last two games, but he's back from an injury. Washington also has Brian Robinson Jr. as their starting running back with Antonio Gibson as a solid backup running back. Chris Rodriguez Jr. Washington's 2023 sixth round pick out of Kentucky is the third string runing back.


Washington has Chase Young at 4-3 right end the second pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Montez Sweat at 4-3 left end their 2019 first round pick, Jonathan Allen their 2017 first round pick, and DaRon Payne their 2018 first round pick. Washington will have their defensive line at full health in week 3 after Chase Young got a sack in his return at Denver in week 2.


Washington's backups are not very good, but their best backup is K.J. Henry their 2023 third round pick out of Clemson who listed as the third string 4-3 right end after playing 4-3 left end at Clemson. He's the only backup good enough to plug into this starting lineup if Chase Young happened to get injured again. You could move Montez Sweat back to 4-3 right end and start K.J. Henry at 4-3 left end if something happens to Chase Young.


Washington has 2021 first round pick Jamin Davis at outside linebacker in their 4-2-5 defense. Cody Barton replaces Cole Holcomb at middle linebacker after a career high 136 total tackles in his contract in Seattle after being the Seattle Seahawks 2019 third round pick


Washington has Kendall Fuller as their field cornerback after Fuller rebounded in 2022 following a rough 2021 season where Washington was dead last in pass defense, Emmanuel Forbes a Mississippi State cornerback who improved without Martin Emerson whose now on the Cleveland Browns is the man that the Washington Commanders drafted sixteenth overall before Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez fell to the New England Patriots a pick later. Emmanuel Forbes will start out as a number two cornerback to Kendall Fuller, but could be Washington's number one cornerback down the road if Washington moves on from Fuller. Benjamin St. Juste is the nickel cornerback. Washington has Jartavius Martin as their dime cornerback the cornerback/safety out of Illinois that played nickel cornerback, strong safety, and free safety with their 2023 second round pick. Kamren Curl is back at strong safety with Darrick Forrest back at free safety. Percy Butler is the backup free safety to Darrick Forrest who did well in the season opener against Jacksonville last year while Curl did well in this years season opener against Arizona.


Joey Slye is the starting kicker with Antonio Gibson as the kick returner and Jameison Crowder as the punt returner. Washington is the only NFL team entering week 5 to have no starters on offense or defense injured. The Washington Commanders aren't a perfect team by any stretch of the imagination, but the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers enter week 5 as the only NFL teams without any injuries.


Prediction: Washington is a 6 point favorite at -6. The over or under is 44.5 with 55% of the public betting on Washington. The money line is +210 for Chicago and -260 for Washington. Take Washington to win and to cover with the under at -260. Bet $340 on this game for Washington and win up to $600 as long as the Commanders win by 7 or more.


Final Score Commanders 31 Bears 7





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless


Jacksonville Jaguars 2-2-0
Versus
Buffalo Bills 3-1-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


You can check out US Football Tips our newest partner with us at Draft Utopia. Feel free to compare our point spreads to theirs.


Why the Jacksonville Jaguars Will Win: Trevor Lawrence has Cam Robinson at left tackle, Walker Little at right tackle at left guard in a contract year, Luke Fortner at center, Brandon Scherff at right guard, and Anton Harrison Jacksonville's 2023 first round pick at right tackle.


Anton Harrison played left tackle in High School and college before being the Jacksonville Jaguars 2023 first round pick. Both Walker Little and Anton Harrison are pushing each other to the limit for that left tackle job as Trevor Lawrence's blindside while Cam Robinson has been used in a limited capacity since he's serving a four game suspension to start the season. Jacksonvill decided to make Cam Robinson the left tackle and kick Walker Little inside to left guard even though Little currently ranks fifth among thirty two left tackles in pass protection. Cooper Hodges, the Jacksonville Jaguars seventh round pick out of Appalachian State that I liked made the final roster and is the number four offensive tackle on this depth chart behind Cam Robinson, Walker Little, and Anton Harrison for the time being. When Robinson and Harrison are both healthy, Little will kick inside to left guard. Tyler Shatley is the backup center with Cole Van Lanen as your backup guard in a swing guard role. I love Jacksonville's depth at offensive tackle and center, but am somewhat concerned with the depth at guard this year. Shatley can move to left guard if Bartch gets injured again with versatility to play guard or center which is probably why Jacksonville only kept nine offensive linemen on their final roster with Cole Van Lanen being the odd man out that I didn't mention.


Jacksonville has Calvin Ridley as their flanker wide receiver, Christian Kirk as their secondary wide receiver even though you can argue he's good enough to be a number one target since he was the Jacksonville Jaguars number one target in 2022, and Zay Jones last years number two target is now playing at slot receiver. Zay Jones has missed the last two games since playing in the season opener, but he was a full practice on Wednesday. This means the Jacksonville Jaguars will be at full health in week 5 for the first time all season with Cam Robinson returning from his suspension.


Jacksonville's wide receiver depth outside of their top three is lackluster unless you think Jamal Agnew is a solid number four option, but Parker Washington Jacksonville's 2023 sixth round pick out of Penn State can learn under him for a year and take over in 2024 unless Agnew agrees to a team friendly deal. I like Agnew on special teams, but he's someone you can upgrade from at wide receiver. Parker Washington couldn't beat out two undrafted guys for a backup wide receiver gig. That's why I say the Jacksonville Jaguars are much thinner at wide receiver compared to 2022 when eleven different wide receivers were on this teams active roster and practice squad combined. Jacksonville's wide receiver depth is thinner than most realize with Jacksonville cutting the bulk of their backup options at wide receiver from the active roster.


Evan Engram is Jacksonville's number one tight end with Luke Farrell as their number two tight end. Brenton Strange, Jacksonville's 2023 second round pick is the third string tight end which makes sense since Strange ranked twenty out of twenty on my tight end rankings for the 2023 NFL Draft. Engram's self esteem and confidence skyrocketted in Jacksonville which led to his extension. Jacksonville just had a ridiculous amount of talent at running back in the preseason with Travis Etienne as the starting running back, Tank Bigsby as the number two running back, JaMycal Hasty last years numbe two running back as the third string running back. D'Ernest Johnson the third string running back on the Cleveland Browns last season is the fourth string running back. Jacksonville has numerous rushers that can carry the rock wtih Doug Pederson modeling Jacksonville in similar fashion as his previous employer the Philadelphia Eagles.


Jacksonville has Folorunso Fatukasi at 3-4 right end, Davon Hamilton at 3-4 nose tackle, and Roy Robertson-Harris at 3-4 left end. Jacksonville has good starters on the defensive line, but I'm not sure the depth is there.


Jacksonville has Josh Allen at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Travon Walker at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd are the starters at 3-4 middle linebacker. Jacksonville has Yasir Abdullah as their backup 3-4 right outside linebacker and K'Lavon Chaisson as their backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Chad Muma and Shaq Quarterman are the backup 3-4 middle linebackers thanks to Ventrell Miller, Jacksonville's 2023 fourth round pick out of Florida having a season ending injury. Miller should be ready to take over for Quarterman after this season when Quarterman's contract expires. Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville's 2022 first round pick out of Utah is inactive for the game in London in week 4 because he had thumb surgery earlier this week leading up to week 4. Chad Muma Jacksonville's 2022 third round pick out of Wyoming that I also had a first round grade on will start in relief of Lloyd. My guess is the Jaguars will keep Lloyd out of the lineup for the next two weeks since Jacksonville plays in London in weeks 4 and 5. Then, we could see Devin Lloyd as early as week 6 with this roster at full health for the first time all season if nobody gets injured in week 5.


Jacksonville has Tyson Campbell at field cornerback, Damarious Williams at boundary cornerback, and Tre Herndon at nickel cornerback. Rayshawn Jenkins remains at strong safety with Andre Cisco at free safety. Andrew Wingard and Daniel Thomas are solid backup safeties for depth. I'm not too thrilled with the Jaguars cornerback depth, but as long as Damarious Williams and Tre Herndon play like they did down the stretch last year, cornerback shouldn't be an issue. If those cornerbacks slip up like they did in the 2023 NFL Playoffs when giving up 27 points to the Los Angeles Chargers and 27 points to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, then drafting a cornerback early in the 2024 NFL Draft becomes priority.


Jacksonville replaced Riley Patterson with Brandon McManus at kicker which I think was an excellent decision by the Jaguars at kicker. Logan Cooke doesn't excite me as a punter, but Jamal Agnew is a heck of a return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner. Parker Washington the Penn State wide receiver that Jacksonville drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft is the backup return specialist to Jamal Agnew.


Why the Buffalo Bills Will Win: Josh Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Josh Allen has a great offensive line with Dion Dawkins at left tackle, Connor McGovern at left guard, Mitch Morse at center, O'Cyrus Torrence at right guard. and Spencer Brown at right tackle. Spencer Brown looked worse in 2023 compared to his first two seasons in Buffalo and gets Maxx Crosby this week. Brown showed promise as a rookie, but had a sophomore slump in 2022 and kept missing assignments against second team defensive linemen on the New York Jets in week 1. Tommy Doyle, Buffalo's backup left tackle is on injured reserve, so Buffalo doesn't have any depth at left tackle if something happens to Dion Dawkins. David Edwards is a good backup left guard. Ryan Bates started at right guard last year, but will now be both the backup center and backup right guard. Germain Ifedi is now the backup right tackle to Spencer Brown.


Buffalo has Stefon Diggs as their flanker wide receiver. Gabriel Davis remains the number two wide receiver. Trent Sherfield won the slot receiver job. Khalil Shakir, last years slot receiver is now the number four wide receiver. Deonte Hardy is the number five wide receiver on this depth chart. It feels like Buffalo is thinner at wide receiver compared to a season ago. There's still a ton of depth at wide receiver in Buffalo.


Dawson Knox is still the starting tight end for Buffalo, but Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo's 2023 first round pick out of Utah may have a say in who is the starting tight end by 2024 or 2025 since Kincaid caught every target in week 1 against the New York Jets. For now, he will be a very good high end number two tight end to Dawson Knox. Quintin Morris was not good enough to be an NFL starter after watching his Bowling Green tape. Somehow he won the backup tight end job to Dawson Knox, but is now rightfully back in a third string tight end role that suits him better.


Buffalo has James Cook as the starting running back taking over for Devin Singletary. Damien Harris is a good number two running back to compliment James Cook. Latavius Murray is the third string running back. Buffalo still has depth at running back. Reggie Gilliam is back as the starting fullback.


Buffalo gets Von Miller back at 4-3 right end whose been cleared to resume practice on wednesday as Von Miller was a full practice. Backup 4-3 right end Leonard Floyd was the 3-4 right outside linebacker on the Rams Super Bowl 56 team with Von Miller at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Floyd currently has 3.5 sacks in Buffalo's first three games and should move to 4-3 left end. Gregory Rosseau played 4-3 right end as a rookie and moved over to 4-3 left end as a sophomore in 2022, but Rosseau could be used as a situational pass rusher with Von Miller and Leonard Floyd as the two starters against Jacksonville. A.J. Epenesa is the backup 4-3 right end until Von Miller comes back from his injury. Shaq Lawson is the 4-3 left end. Buffalo had trouble getting pressure on the quarterback without Von Miller, but the Buffalo Bills still have a lot of quality players that can blitz off the edge even without a sack artist like Von Miller.


Buffalo has Ed Oliver starting at 4-3 defensive tackle with Daquan Jones complimenting Ed Oliver as the second starting 4-3 defensive tackle. Jordan Phillips and Tim Settle are the two backup 4-3 defensive tackles. Buffalo also has Poona Ford as a 4-3 defensive tackle, but Poona Ford is the fifth defensive tackle on this roster as well as the only third string 4-3 defensive tackle on the Buffalo Bills.


Buffalo has Matt Milano at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Dorian WIlliams the Buffalo Bills 2023 third round pick out of Tulane at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Terrell Bernard at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Matt Milano will play outside linebacker with Terrell Bernard at middle linebacker on plays where Buffalo deploys a 4-2-5 nickel defense.


Buffalo is moving Christian Benford to field cornerback covering number one wide receivers with Tre'Davious White out for the year. Dane Jackson will play boundary cornerback covering number two wide receivers with White out for the season. Taron Johnson at nickel cornerback covering slot receivers in nickel packages. Kaiir Elam, Buffalo's 2022 first round pick as the dime cornerback in four cornerback sets. Buffalo has Jordan Poyer at strong safety and Micah Hyde at free safety. Taylor Rapp is the backup strong safety while Damar Hamlin is the backup free safety. Damar Hamlin started at strong safety next to Micah Hyde in week 4 when Poyer was out. Jordan Poyer practiced on Wednesday and should be back this week.


Buffalo has Tyler Bass at kicker. Deonte Hardy is the kick returner and punt returner for the Buffalo Bills this season.


Prediction: Buffalo is a 4.5 point favorite at -4.5. The over or under is 47.5 with 90% of the public betting on Buffalo. The money line is +200 for Jacksonville and -300 for Buffalo. I like Buffalo to win and Jacksonville to cover with the over at +200. Bet $300 on this game for Jacksonville and win up to $500 as long as the Bills win by 4 or less.


Final Score Bills 34 Jaguars 31 OT





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless



Houston Texans 2-2-0
Versus
Atlanta Falcons 2-2-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


We're back for the 2023 NFL Season. You can follow our weekly predictions crew. Jesse Lucas won the first year in 2014-2015. Jason Bantle and myself now have two championships after I won the NFL Pickem Champion Trophy for most accurate predictions against the spread in 2020-2021 and had the most accurate NFL predictions again in 2022-2023. Oren Shiri, Tanya Holmes, and Wes Langley have one pickem title too back in 2021-2022. Send me your predictions on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to be eligible for prizes should you have a perfect week. You can also email me your season picks by emailing me at chris@draftutopia.com.


For the third year in a row Draft Utopia defeated the maintstream media in NFL Predictions. After I had the best record in 2020-2021 going 181-74-1, Wes Langley went 189-95-1 in 2021-2022. I went 190-92-3 in 2022-2023 allowing Draft Utopia to become the first sports website in the world to three peat in NFL predictions. Wes, myself, and the rest of our entire staff are back to make picks for the 2023 NFL Season.


Lisa Donovan and Jason Bantle are both 44-20 through four weeks which ranks first in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings and are both fourth in the country nationally through three weeks. Leo Sells of Gridiron Experts is 46-18 on the year which is now the best record in the country. Sideline Report a Youtuber that follows me on Twitter and T-Web someone in Sideline Report's NFL Pickem Pool are both 45-19. Lisa and Jason are tied for fourth in the country after those three jumped them in week 4 despite Lisa and Jason both going 12-4 in week 4.


Joseph Potter is currenlty third in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 43-21 record. Joey is currently tied for sixth in the country after being tied for fourth in the country a week ago despite going 12-4 in week 4.


Brian Bayless is currenlty fourth in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 42-22 record. Brian is currently tied for eighth in the country after being tied for fourth in the country a week ago despite going 11-5 in week 4.


I am currently fifth in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 40-24 record. I dropped from sixteenth to seventeenth in the country after going 12-4 in week 4.


Oren Shiri, Andrew Kermish, and Tanya Holmes are all 39-25 tied for fifth place in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings. Oren, Andrew, and Tanya are tied for twenty second in the country through four weeks. Tanya went 12-4 to tie Andrew and Oren who both went 9-7 in week 4. Oren and Andrew dropped from being tied for ninth in the country to being tied for twenty second with Tanya heading into week 5.


Wes Langley and Jesse Lucas are 38-26 which is tied for ninth in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings and both are currently tied for thirty first in the country. Wes went 10-6 in week 4 while Jesse went 12-4 last week in week 4.


Tracy Porter is 36-28 currently eleventh the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings. Tracy is forty third in the country after going 8-8 in week 4.


Why the Houston Texans Will Win: C.J. Stroud the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State is now the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans. Houston should get Laremy Tunsil back at left tackle and Tytus Howard back at right tackle. Houston may have to start a third or fourth string left guard, but Jarrett Patterson will remain the starting center and with better offensive tackle play, Stroud will have even more time in the pocket.


Houston has Nico Collins as their number one flanker receiver, Robert Woods as their number two secondary receiver, and Nathaniel "Tank" Dell as their slot receiver after Stroud told the Houston Texans to draft the Houston Cougars wide receiver as a receiving target. Houston took Tank Dell in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Noah Brown leads the competition to be the number four receiver and main backup at wide receiver with John Metchie III currently the number five receiver on Houston's depth chart and Xavier Hutchinson the Iowa State wide receiver that Houston drafted as the number six wide receiver. John Metchie III got ruled out for the season opener.


Dalton Schultz is the starting tight end with Dameon Pierce as the starting running back. Andrew Beck is the starting fullback. Teagan Quitoriano is the backup tight end to Dalton Schultz while Brevin Jordan is the Houston Texans third string tight end behind Schultz and Quitoriano. Devin Singletary is the backup running back to Dameon Pierce this season. There's a lot playmakers on this offense for the second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Houston also has Davis Mills the starter for the last two seasons as the backup to Stroud with veteran Case Keenum as the third string quarterback if Stroud were to get injured. Right now, Houston's only injuries on offense occur on the offensive line which is the fortunate news for the Houston Texans.


Houston has Will Anderson Jr. their third overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama starting at 4-3 right end with Jonathan Greenard starting at 4-3 left end. Jerry Hughes who led the Houston Texans in sacks last year is listed as a backup defensive end on Houston's current depth chart as a third edge rusher listed as the backup 4-3 left end to Jonathan Greenard. Derek Rivers somehow made this roster, but is the backup 4-3 right end to Will Anderson Jr. I doubt we see Derek Rivers unless multiple edge rushers on Houston go down with injuries. Will Anderson Jr. should be an everydown player while Greenard and Hughes rotate at the other edge spot across from the former Bronco Nagurski Award winner. Maliek Collins and Sheldon Rankins are the two starters at 4-3 defensive tackles for the Houston Texans, which is an improvement from last year, but I still feel like the Texans depth at defensive tackle could improve.


Houston has Christian Harris a linebacker from Alabama at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Denzel Perryman at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Blake Cashman at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Christian Harris and Denzel Perryman will be the only starters at linebacker in 4-2-5 nickel packages. Houston's got Henry To'oTo'o as the backup 4-3 middle linebacker as well as the backup middle linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense with Blake Cashman as the backup outside linebacker.


Houston will not have a number one field cornerback since the Houston Texans placed Derek Stingley Jr. on injured reserve once again for the second time in his second NFL season after taking the LSU cornerback third overall in the 2022 NFL Draft ahead of Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner out of Cincinnati who went one pick later to the New York Jets as Gardner will be out anywhere from 4-8 weeks after getting placed on injured reserve before week 3. Now Houston will have a combination of Steven Nelson, Tavierre Thomas, and Shaquille Griffin as their top three cornerbacks until Stingley returns while Jimmie Ward and Jalen Pitre are injured at safety too. Houston's backup safeties Eric Murray and M.J. Stewart look like shadows of thier former selves when starting for the Houston Texans this season.


Houston's offense needs to score touchdowns while the defense limits touchdowns if the Houston Texans are going to win. There isn't a single player on special teams that I would extend at the moment.


Why the Atlanta Falcons Will Win: Desmond Ridder will have Jake Matthews at left tackle, Matthew Bergeron at left guard, Drew Dalman at center, Chris Lindstrom at right guard, and Kaleb McGary at right tackle. Wide receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts, backup tight end Jonnu Smith, starting running back Bijan Robinson, backup running back Tyler Allgeier, and third string running back Cordarrelle Patterson are the only assets that Ridder has in the passing game for Desmond Ridder whose got the ceiling of an above average starter, but lacks the ceiling you want from a Pro Bowl quarterback. Atlanta is a run heavy team that will utilize the trio of Robinson, Allgeier, and Patterson to wear down opposing defenses while also draining the clock after leading the NFL in rushing yards last year. Atlanta's ground game led by the seventh pick in the 2023 NFL Draft with Bijan Robinson headlining the backfield should have a huge season opener. Cordarrelle Patterson should be back this week as the third string running back.


Atlanta has Calias Campbell at 3-4 right end, David Onyemata at 3-4 nose tackle, and Grady Jarrett at 3-4 left end giving Atlanta one of their best 3-4 defensive lines in years. Atlanta has Bud Dupree at 3-4 right outside linebacker with Arnold Ebiketie complimenting him at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Kaden Elliss and Troy Andersen will both start at 3-4 middle linebacker.


A.J. Terrell, Atlanta's field cornerback is the only healthy cornerback at the moment. Jeffrey Okudah who Atlanta traded for at boundary cornerback is expected to be back in week 3. Clark Phillips III is also expected to make his debut at nickel cornerback in week 5 after missing the first four weeks of the season and being a full practice. Strong safety Richie Grant and free safety Jesse Bates III give Atlanta one of the better safety tandems in the NFL.


Younghoe Koo is one of the best kickers in the NFL. Atlanta's kicker asserted himself as a top 5 kicker last season.


Prediction: Atlanta is a 1.5 point favorite at -1.5. The over or under is 43.5 with 55% of the public betting on Atlanta. The money line is +110 for Houston and -130 for Atlanta. I like Houston to win and to cover with the over at +110. Bet $190 on this game for Houston and win up to $300 as long as the Falcons win by 1 or less.


Final Score Texans 30 Falcons 24 OT





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless


Carolina Panthers 0-4-0
Versus
Detroit Lions 3-1-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


Draft Utopia airs on Talkshoe and Spotify now. We have a show on Spotify with Oren and myself that airs sometimes as well as our usual weekend show on Talkshoe and Restream which livestreams what I do on Talkshoe to Youtube showcasing the visuals I use when breaking down things on my podcast. The Draft Utopia podcast is already underway with the first five episodes of season 13 on Talkshoe while our podcast on is also on Restream with the newest Restream episodes embedded to Youtube like the newest episode where Joey and I ranked the top 20 running backs in the 2024 NFL Draft.






Why the Carolina Panthers Will Win: Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama will have Ikem Ekwonu at left tackle a second year left tackle as well as Carolina's 2022 first round pick out of North Carolina State. Chandler Zavala a 2023 fourth round pick who was teammates with Ekwonu at North Carolina State playing the same position he played with the Wolfpack at left guard with Brady Christiensen injured and out for the year. Bradley Bozeman remains at center. Austin Corbett could be back at right guard this week. Taylor Moton, Carolina's right tackle. Bryce Young missed week 3 against Seattle with Andy Dalton starting on the road in Seattle. Bryce Young started in week 2 against New Orleans on Monday Night Football at home and will start once again at Bank Of America Stadium on Sunday.


Bryce Young has D.J. Chark as his number one flanker receiver. D.J. Chark missed the opener before being eased in from his injury on Monday Night Football. Bryce Young missed week 3 in Chark's second game back from an injury when he was fully healthy. Chark's durability concerns were why Jacksonville gave up on him after his rookie deal. Detroit gambled on him for a year until his contract ran up, but Carolina believes he can be the number one receiver he was back in 2019 when he exceeded 1,000 yards as a sophomore which was the only time Chark did that in his career. Jonathan Mingo as his number two secondary receiver, but had responsibilities of a number one wide receiver until Chark returned. Adam Thielen is his slot receiver when Chark is the number one target and Mingo is the number two target, but one Chark is out and two Thielen's questionable to play. Terrace Marshall Jr. was the number two receiver on Carolina last year next to D.J. Moore, but he's currently the number four receiver on the Carolina Panthers depth chart, but with Chark out he gets bumped up to slot receiver. Laviska Shenault Jr. is the number five receiver when the other four targets are healthy, but could be the number two target if both Thielen and Terrace Marshall Jr. get ruled out on Sunday. Ihmir Smith-Marssette, a wide receiver that the Super Bowl 57 Champion Kansas City Chiefs cut in training camp is the number six wide receiver on Carolina's roster.


Hayden Hurst the former Cincinnati Bengals starting tight end is the new number one tight end, but last years starting tight end Ian Thomas will be used in two tight end sets. Tommy Tremble, Carolina's 2021 third round pick out of Notre Dame is the third string tight end after being the backup tight end to Ian Thomas the last two seasons. Miles Sanders is going to be the new starting running back. Chuba Hubbard will remain the number two running back, but failed to cease the starting job following Christian McCaffrey's injury in 2021 before losing the starting running back job to D'Onta Foreman in 2022 following Carolina's decision to trade for Christian McCaffrey.


Carolina is switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. Brian Burns has experience at 3-4 right outside linebacker and so does Justin Houston the new Free Agent signing at 3-4 left outside linebacker that Carolina made days before their first preseason game. Shaq Thompson and Frankie Luvu are the starters at 3-4 middle linebacker. Deion Jones took over for Shaq Thompson after Thompson sufferred a season ending injury in week 2. Carolina has Yetur Gross-Matos last years starter next to Brian Burns as a backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Chandler Wooten beat out D.J. Johnson Carolina's 2023 third round pick out of Oregon for the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker job behind Brian Burns relegating D.J. Johnson who got abused by Dawand Jones in the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl to a third string role. Derrick Brown will move from 4-3 defensive tackle to 3-4 right end with Shy Tuttle complimenting him at 3-4 left end. Carolina is suspect at nose tackle with Brown transitioning to 5-technique.


Carolina has Donte Jackson at field cornerback. Jackson got extended after his rookie deal came back from an injury in week 10 only to suffer a season ending injury on Thursday Night football in 2022. Jackson did well against Atlanta with Jaycee Horn next to him, but gave up a touchdown to New Orleans on Monday Night Football. Donte Jackson left week 4 with an injury, but the injury wasn't considered serious, so he should play in week 5. C.J. Henderson is filling in for Jaycee Horn at boundary cornerback thanks to Horn having a hamstring injury that landed Horn on injured reserve for 6-8 weeks after getting injured in practice. It should be a 4-6 week recovery from Horn heading into week 4. Jeremy Chinn remains at nickel cornerback after moving from safety to nickel, but can also play 3-4 middle linebacker. Von Bell is the starting strong safety. Xavier Woods missed week 4 and looks like he will miss week 5 too. Sam Franklin, the backup free safety to Xavier Woods had a pick six against Minnesota. Carolina can start rookie 2023 fifth round pick Jammie Robinson is the backup strong saefety. Troy Hill is Carolina's dime cornerback until Jaycee Horn returns.


Carolina has Eddy Pinero at kicker. Former Los Angeles Rams punter Johnny Hekker is the punter. I feel like an upgrade over Raheem Blacksheer at return specialist could be made though.


Why the Detroit Lions Will Win: Quarterback Jared Goff has a stronger offensive line than last year. He's got Taylor Decker back at left tackle, Jonah Jackson at left guard, Frank Ragnow at center, Halapoulivaati Vaitai at right guard, and Penei Sewell at right tackle. Graham Glasgow is a good backup right guard if Vaitai has durability issues at right guard like last year as he filled in nicely in weeks 3 and 4. The right guard position with Vaitai and Glasgow is the only question mark on Detroit's offensive line, but Glasgow did well in week 3 filling in for Vaitai. Taylor Decker missed the last two games, but returns from his injury at left tackle for the Thursday Night game. Teddy Bridgewater is the Detroit Lions backup quarterback now with third string quarterback Nate Sudfield out for the year and Detroit Lions 2023 third round pick Hendon Hooker is still on the NFL injured list and will miss the first four games of the season after helping the Tennessee Volunteers defeat Alabama during his senior season before tearing his ACL.


Jared Goff has Amon-Ra St. Brown as his flanker wide receiver, Jameson Williams is back from his suspension as the secondary wide receiver, and Marvin Jones Jr. is the slot receiver. Detroit has Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond for depth at wide receiver. Sam LaPorta the 2023 second round pick out of Iowa is the starting tight end, Brock Wright is the backup tight end, and James Mitchell is the third string tight end. David Montgomery is the Detroit Lions starting running back, but Jahmyr Gibbs started in week 3 when Montgomery was out with an injury before Montgomery returned in week 4. Detroit is fully healthy on offense outside of right guard and Graham Glasgow might be better than Vaitai who entered the year as the starter which is why Detroit's offense might explode from this point forward.


Detroit will have Aidan Hutchinson at 4-3 right end and John Cominsky at 4-3 left end once again with both Hutchinson and Comisky fully healthy. Josh Paschal and Romeo Okwara are the backup 4-3 defensive ends with Okwara as a backup to Aidan Huchinson at 4-3 right end with Paschal as a rotational edge rusher complimenting Cominsky as a backup 4-3 left end. Alim McNeil and Isaiah Buggs are complimenting those two at 4-3 defensive tackle for Detroit's 4-2-5 nickel defense as Detroit will run a hybrid of the 4-3 base defense and nickel defense under defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Levi Onwuzurike Detroit's 2021 second round pick out of Washington and Broderic Martin Detroit's 2023 third round pick are the backup 4-3 defensive tackles. Romeo Okwara, Isaiah Buggs, and Broderic Martin are all inactive. With the lack of defensive tackle options available for Detroit it will be hard to stop one of the best interior offensive lines in the NFL in week 1.


Alex Anzalone is moving from 4-3 right outside linebacker to play the WILL on the weakside after playing 4-3 middle linebacker at the MIKE. Jack Campbell Detroit's 2023 first round pick out of Iowa will start at 4-3 middle linebacker at the MIKE. When Detroit runs 4-3 schemes Charles Harris, Detroit's 4-3 left end last year will start at 4-3 left outside linebacker in the SAM in a role similar to the one Haason Reddick played with the Philadelphia Eagles. Detroit seems to have a lot of depth on the front 7 right now when you consider that Derrick Barnes is the backup to Alex Anzalone at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Anzalone will move back to middle linebacker if anything happens to Jack Campbell, and Julian Okwara in a contract year is the backup to Charles Harris.


Detroit currently has Cameron Sutton at field cornerback, Jerry Jacobs at boundary cornerback, Brian Branch as their nickel cornerback, Will Harris at dime cornerback, and Chase Lucas who was n Detroit's practice squad is now the quarter cornerback with boundary cornerback Emmanuel Moseley now out for the fourth week in a row. C.J. Gardner-Johnson is out for the year at strong safety. Tracy Walker should move back from free safety to strong safety this week if Kerby Joseph, Detroit's starting free safety returns in week 5 after missing the last two weeks.


Riley Patterson is Detroit's kicker. Jack Fox is punter. Kalif Raymond is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner.


Prediction: Detroit is a 10 point favorite at -10. The over or under is 44 with 75% of the public betting on Detroit. The money line is +350 for Carolina and -450 for Detroit. Take Detroit to win and cover with the over at -450. Bet $550 on this game for Detroit and win up to $1,000 as long as the Lions win by 11 points or more.


Final Score Lions 35 Panthers 14





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless



Tennessee Titans 2-2-0
Versus
Indianapolis Colts 2-2-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


I've been uploading film to our Youtube Channel for the 2024 NFL Draft. We're even incorporating that film into our mock drafts. If you do film cut ups, add me on Twitter @DraftUtopia and message me. I'm also posting full College Games On Rumble as well as older games which are currently archived on Bitchute like LSU's National Title win over Clemson that got 8,500 views on Bitchute, but I'll probably focus more on Youtube and Rumble since Bitchute wouldn't let me upload content.


Why the Tennessee Titans Will Win: Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill has Andre Dillard at left tackle even though he sucks. Peter Skoronski at left guard thanks to Tennessee's 2023 first round pick that was drafted out of Northwestern is going to be back in week 5 after missing weeks 2-4. Aaron Brewer last years left guard moved to center. Daniel Brunskull San Francisco's backup right guard to Spencer Burford at right guard is now the starting right guard. Tennessee gets Nicholas Petit-Friere back from his suspension at right tackle. Chris Hubbard is the backup right tackle while Dillon Radunz is the backup left guard.


Tennessee has DeAndre Hopkins as their flanker wide receiver and Treylon Burks last years flanker receiver as their secondary wide receiver. DeAndre Hopkins leads the NFL in third down conversions for a wide receiver with 8 so far ths season. Treylon Burks ended up missing week 4 and is the only injured Tennessee Titans player out in week 5.


Tennessee has a tight end duo of Chigoziem Okonwko who began the season as the backup tight end to Austin Hooper as the starting tight end with Trevon Wesco as the backup tight end, Josh Whyle pushing Wesco for that number two tight end role, and Alize Mack as the number four tight end. Tennessee may bring a lot of 12 personnel with all of their depth at tight end. Tennessee has Derrick Henry as their starting running back and Tyjae Spears their 2023 third round pick out of Tulane won the backup running back job. Tennesee has depth in spades at running back and tight end. The Titans appear rather thin at wide receiver while the offensive line will struggle early in the season.


Tennessee has Jeffrey Simmons at 3-4 right end and Denico Autry at 3-4 left end. Tennesee replaced Bud Dupree with Arden Key at 3-4 right outside linebacker and has Harold Landry at 3-4 left outside linebacker even though both guys are versatile enough to play edge rusher on either side. Rashod Weaver who led the Titans in sacks during Landry's injury is a situational pass rusher while Caleb Murphy, a player I interviewed at the 2023 East West Shrine Bowl who went undrafted out of Ferris State is the number four pass rusher on this depth chart. Tennessee should have the depth to get pressure on the opposing quarterback if Harold Landry can stay healthy in 2023. The drawback is the Tennessee Titans are thinner at 3-4 nose tackle and 3-4 middle linebacker compared to a season ago. If you run it up the middle enough, you will force Simmons and Autry to abandon the left or right on counters to clog the middle which will open up runs to the outside as well as passing plays.


Tennessee has Kristian Fulton at field cornerback back as a full practice in week 3 after missing week 2. Sean Murphy-Bunting remains at boundary cornerback after being the number two cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during his rookie deal. Roger McCreary is the nickel cornerback in week 3. Caleb Farley Tennessee's 2021 first round pick is on the PUP list and will not be in the lineup to start the season. Tennessee has Amani Hooker at strong safety and Kevin Byard at free safety.


Tennessee traded for New England Patriots kicker Nick Folk whose now the starting kicker on the Tennessee Titans. Ryan Stonehouse is the punter. Kyle Phillips last years slot receiver to Robert Woods and Treylon Burks is the punt returner. I'm not sold on Julius Chestnut at kick returner. The bakup return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner is Tyjae Spears.


Why the Indianapolis Colts Will Win: Anthony Richardson is back at quarterback. Indianapolis has Blake Freeman at left tackle, Quinton Nelson at left guard, Ryan Kelly at center, Will Fries at right guard, and Braden Smith at right tackle with starting left tackle Bernard Raimann being ruled inactive in week 4. Raimann could be out in week 5 too. Nelson didn't practice on wednesday after dealing with a toe injury which may be something to monitor throughout the week. Danny Pinter who was supposed to start at right guard and Jake Witt the backup left tackle from Northern Michigan are both currently on injured reserve. Both Ryan Kelly and Danny Pinter are injured, so Indianapolis will not have a center who can stop Baltimore's nose tackles potentially making this a very long day for the Indianpolis Colts in week 3. Blake Freeland one of their draft picks out of BYU is expected to be the swing tackle as the backup left tackle and backup right tackle as the Indianapolis Colts 2023 fourth round pick is the only quality depth player on this offensive line entering the season if injuries occur.


Indianapolis has Michael Pittman Jr. as their flanker wide receiver, Alec Pierce as their secondary wide receiver. Isaiah McKenzie and Josh Downs have been splitting reps at slot receiver during the preseason despite the fact that McKeznie was ahead of Downs on the depth chart prior to the Colts first preseason game. Indianapolis intially cut McKenzie to trim the roster, but brought him back once placing Jelani Woods on injured reserve. Moe Alie-Cox is the starting tight end, Kylen Granson is the backup tight end, Will Mallory, the Indianapolis Colts 2023 fifth round pick replaces Jelani Woods as the the third string tight end, and Drew Ogltree is still the fourth string tight end with Jelani Woods on injured reserve. Moe Alie-Cox left week 4 injured and did not practice on Wednesday.


Indianapolis gets their starting running back Jonathan Taylor back this week as he was a full practice. Backup running backk Zack Moss is now the starter. Deon Jackson last years third string running back got cut. Evan Hull, a 2023 fifth round draft pick out of Northwestern suffered a season ending injury.


Indianapolis has Kwity Paye at 4-3 right end and Samson Ebukam joining him at 4-3 left end after Ebukam played with the San Francisco 49ers in 2022. DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart remain the starters at 4-3 defensive tackle. Tyquan Lewis is the backup 4-3 right end and Dayo Odeyingbo is the backup 4-3 left end with Taven Bryan is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle backing up Buckner. There is a chance that Paye and Buckner don't play on Sunday as both missed practice with injuries on Wednesday.


Indianapolis has Shaquille Leonard once known as Darius Leonard at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Zaire Franklin at 4-3 middle linebacker, and E.J. Speed at 4-3 left outside linebacker. I like Leonard, but he dealt with injuries last year, and I'm not sure if the Indianapolis Colts will be as effective at linebacker without Bobby Okereke. Shaquille Leonard and Zaire Franklin will be the two starting linebackers when the Indianapolis Colts operate a 4-2-5 nickel defense.


Indianapolis didn't have Julius Brents on their secondary got exposed as a result in week 2. Brents came back in week 3 when Indianapolis defeated Baltimore with Gardner Minshew II filling in for Anthony Richardson. Dallis Flowers and Kenny Moore II are both questionable in week 3. Indianapolis is starting Julian Blackmon at strong safety and Rodney Thomas II at free safety while leaving Nick Cross on the bench.


Prediction: Tennessee is a 2.5 point favorite at -2.5. The over or under is 43 with 61% of the public betting on Indianapolis. The money line is -115 for Tennessee and +105 for Indianapolis. I like Indianapolis to win and to cover with the under at +105. Bet $195 on this game for Indinapapolis and win up to $300 as long as the Titans win by 2 or less.


Final Score Colts 17 Titans 14





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless


New York Giants 1-3-0
Versus
Miami Dolphins 3-1-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


North Carolina VS South Carolina game film is now up. I posted Drake Maye and Spencer Rattler game film. I also added game film for South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette to this playlist. I will be working on prospect film for Texas VS Alabama, Colorado State VS Colorado, Ohio State VS Notre Dame, and Notre Dame Duke. I'll be adding Oklahoma VS Texas to this list of games I'm currently editing next week.




Why the New York Giants Will Win: New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones got the bag after his 2022 season where he guided the New York Giants to a playoff appearance with a win in the wild card round. The New York Giants will not have Andrew Thomas at left tackle and unless Evan Neal moves over to left tackle until Andrew Thomas returns, it is going to be a long night for Daniel Jones. John Michael Schmitz, New York's starting center that played well in the first three weeks and started in week 4 before leaving the game with a injury. This is the second week in a row that Andrew Thomas will miss this contest at left tackle.


Isaiah Hodgins is the flanker wide receiver with Darius Slayton as the secondary wide receiver. Parris Campbell is the slot receiver. Jalin Hyatt, a 2023 third round pick out of Tennessee who won the Billetnikoff Award in 2022 is the number four receiver on this depth chart, but could be the number one target by the end of the season. Sterling Shephard is the number five wide receiver. Wan'Dale Robinson is the number six wide receiver. The New York Giants have a lot of wide receiver depth for quarterback Daniel Jones, but not a true number one superstar for their franchise quarterback who got a four year extension.


The New York Giants traded for Darren Waller whose now the starting tight end. Daniel Bellinger started as a rookie, but is now the number two tight end.


Saquon Barkley is out in week 3 after getting injured near the end of week 2. New York will have trouble running the football. Saquon Barkley missed his second week in a row in week 4. Saquon Barkley could be back in week 5.


New York has Leonard Williams at 3-4 right end and Dexter Lawrence at 3-4 nose tackle. I don't trust either A'Shawn Robinson or Rakeem Nunez-Roches at 3-4 left end. Teams with star players at right guard will be able to expose the glaring weakness on the New York Giants defensive line.


Kayvon Thibodeaux enters his sophomore season in the NFL as the starting 3-4 right outside linebacker with Azeez Ojulari complimenting him at 3-4 left linebacker, but Azeez Ojulari missed the first three weeks before making his season debut in week 4. Carlos Basham is the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker and Jihad Ward is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. New York signed Bobby Okerke to a 4 year contract at 3-4 middle linebacker. Micah McFadden is starting next to him and McFadden is a guy with the floor to be a really good backup, but he's not an ideal starter at 3-4 middle linebacker. Isaiah Simmons is the backup 3-4 middle linebacker ot Micah McFadden even though you can make a case for Simmons starting over McFadden. One more thing to take into account is that Jarrad Davis is on injured reserve and is out for the first four games.


The New York Giants aren't just starting one rookie cornerback. The New York Giants are starting two rookie cornerbacks. Deonte Banks, the New York Giants 2023 first round pick out of Maryland won the field cornerback job. The bigger surprise is Tre Hawkins a 2023 sixth round pick that played at Old Dominion won the boundary cornerback job. Tre Hawkins played cornerback, strong safety, and free safety before wowing NFL teams with his 40 time. Tre Hawkins is great in zone coverage, but his man coverage and press coverage is gonna have to improve based on what he did at Old Dominion. In Tre's defense, he beat out Adoree Jackson for the number two cornerback job. Adoree Jackson was New York's number one cornerback last year, but now he's the nickel cornerback. Darnay Holmes last years nickel cornerback got demoted to dime cornerback in a contract year. Cor'Dale Flott is the quarter cornerback. Jason Pinnock is starting at strong safety while Xavier McKinney who played strong safety last year is moving to free safety in a contract year. Dane Belton is the main backup safety as the 2022 fourth round pick out of Iowa enters his second season.


New York has Graham Gano as their starting kicker. Eric Gray Jr., the New York Giants 2023 fifth round pick out of Oklahoma is currently the fourth string running back on this depth chart because of his pedestrian pass blocking, but he's also fast and catches the ball out of the backfield when you watch him at Oklahoma. Giving someone like Eric Gray Jr. the punt returner job is an interesting decision. If he can generate some explosion on punt returns he could create a big play.


Why the Miami Dolphins Will Win: Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has Terron Armstead at left tackle thanks to avoiding an injury scare, but Armstead got ruled out in week 1 with Kendall Lamb playing at left tackle and Isaiah Wynn at left guard. Connor Williams is back at center. Robert Hunt remains at right guard. Austin Jackson is the blindside at right tackle for left handed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Terron Armstead returned in week 3 giving the Miami Dolphins a fully healthy offensive line for the first time all year where Miami dropped 70 points on the Denver Broncos without Jaylen Waddle. Terron Armstead got injured again in week 4 with Kendall Lamb having to come in. Armstead didn't practice on Wednesday after missing week 4.


Miami has Tyreek Hill as their flanker receiver and Jaylen Waddle as their secondary wide receiver even though Waddle showed ability to be a number one target before Miami traded for Tyreek Hill. Braxton Berrios won the slot receiver job. Cedrick Wilson Jr. and River Cracraft are pushing each other for the number four wide receiver job. Erik Ezukanma a former Texas Tech wide receiver that I was high on rounds out this core of wide receivers on Miami's depth chart. While Miami is just as deep at wide receiver compared to last year, I think their worse at tight end with backup tight end Durham Smythe replacing Mike Gesicki.


Miami has Raheem Mostert this week, but he will be splitting carries with Miami Dolphins running back Devon Achane after Miami's 2023 third round pick out of Texas A&M had over 200 rushing yards against Denver last week in week 3. I expect Achane to become the lead back at some point. Jeffrey Wilson Jr. and Ronald Jones are on injured reserve for the first four games of the season. Fullback Alec Ingold was good with the Las Vegas Raiders and has a chance to be great with this supporting cast in Miami. The scary thing is that this is the first game all season where the Miami Dolphins offense is at full health.


Miami has Christian Wilkins at 3-4 right end, Raekwon Davis at 3-4 nose tackle, and Zach Seiler at 3-4 left end who jumped Emmanuel Ogbah on Miami's depth chart at 3-4 left end after finishing fourth in total tackles and first in the NFL in forced fumbles during Ogbah's season ending injury. Miami has Bradley Chubb at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Jaelen Phillips at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Jerome Baker and David Long Jr. will play at 3-4 middle linebacker. Miami can use Emmanuel Ogbah as a situational edge rusher or a situational 5-technique player on the interior. Miami can also has Channing Tindall for depth at 3-4 middle linebacker.


Miami has Xavien Howard at field cornerback covering number one receivers. Jalen Ramsey was supposed to play boundary cornerback next to Howard giving Miami two number one cornerbacks, but he's out until December. Kader Kohoo who did surprisingly well as an undrafted rookie and Eli Apple are competing for the number two spot across from Howard in Ramsey's absence while the loser of that competiion moves to nickel cornerback. Eli Apple will play boundary cornerback until Jalen Ramsey returns. Kader Kohoo remains Miami's nickel cornerback until December, but may retain that role if Eli Apple ends up being awful this upcoming season. Kelvin Joseph is the dime cornerback for now, but should be the quarter cornerback by the time Ramsey returns after Miami traded Noah Igbinoghene their third 2020 first round pick at cornerback to Dallas for Kelvin Joseph whose still got two years left on his rookie deal for less money. Miami has Jevon Holland at strong safety and Brandon Jones at free safety. Miami added DeShon Elliott for depth at free safety as Elliott will now backup up Jones which is funny because Jones backed up Elliott at Texas when both safeties were teammates in the Big 12 back in college.


Miami has Jason Sanders at kicker and Jake Bailey at punter. Braxton Berrios is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner for the Miami Dolphins.


Prediction: Miami is a 11 point favorite at -11. The over or under is 48.5 with 87% of the public betting on Miami. The money line is +250 for New York and -300 for Miami. Take Miami to win and cover with the over at -300. Bet $400 on this game for Miami and win up to $700 as long as the Dolphins win by 12 points or more.


Final Score Dolphins 35 Giants 10





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless



New Orleans Saints 2-2-0
Versus
New England Patriots 1-3-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


@JimNagy_SB has the latest Senior Bowl updates on Twitter. I'm going to post the five tweets that mention prospects for the 2024 NFLPA Senior Bowl with NFLPA being the sponsor for the 75th annual Senior Bowl. Reese's will retain its sponsorship with the Senior Bowl in 2025.



Malachi Moore can play nickel cornerback and free safety. Moore would be a good get for Mobile.




Michael Penix Jr. is killing it this year. He should be a first round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.




Zak Zinter is one of the top right guards in the 2024 NFL Draft. This would be a good get for Mobile.




Blake Corum is my top running back in the 2024 NFL Draft. Blake Corum and TreVeyon Henderson are the only running backs that I can justify taking in the first round right now.




Javon Foster has picked up right where he left off last year. Javon Foster should be in Mobile for the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl.



Why the New Orleans Saints Will Win: New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr has a much stronger offensive line in New Orleans compared to last year after the Las Vegas Raiders ownership gave up on Derek Carr. New Orleans has Trevor Penning at left tackle, Andrus Peat at left guard, Erik McCoy at center, Cesar Ruiz at right guard, and Ryan Ramczyk at right tackle. Landon Young a 2021 sixth round pick out of Kentucky is the backup left tackle. James Hurst will now be the backup left guard and will only play if Andrus Peat gets injured in 2023. Max Garcia, a former center on the Arizona Cardinals who backed up Rodney Hudson before starting down the stretch is the backup center. Nick Saldiveri the New Orleans Saints 2023 fourth round pick from Old Dominion is both the backup right guard and backup right tackle. I think any of the three quarterbacks can succeed here whether it be starting quarterback Derek Carr, backup quarterback Jameis Winston, or third string quarterback Jake Haener who New Orleans drafted in the fourth round out of Fresno State. All three quarterbacks looked great against the Super Bowl 57 Champion Kansas City Chiefs, but the backups on this offensive line aren't terrible either. The problem is the backups on this offensive lne aren't great players, yet the positive is those players aren't liabilities either.


New Orleans has two number one receivers with Chris Olave supplanting Michael Thomas as the flanker receiver while Michael Thomas is now the secondary wide receiver. Rashid Shaheed, Tre'Quan Smith, and A.T. Perry the New Orleans Saints 2023 sixth round pick out of Wake Forest all made a case to be the slot receiver for New Orleans in the preseason. Tre'Quan Smith got ruled out for week 1, so I think we may see A.T. Perry in that slot receiver role this weekend. Juwan Johnson is the starting tight end. Foster Moreau, Derek Carr's teammate on the Las Vegas Raiders came to New Orleans as the third string tight end, but beat out Taysom Hill for the backup tight end job. Foster Moreau is out in week 3, so Taysom Hill has backup tight end duties once again until Moreau returns. Former New Orleans Saints legend Jimmy Graham is back in New Orleans for one more season as the fourth string tight end, but is a third string tight end this week with Moreau out of the lineup.


New Orleans has Alvin Kamara as their starting running back when fully healthy, but he's supsended for one more week. Backup running back Jamaal Williams is dealing with a hamstring and is on injured reserve. Kendre Miller, the New Orleans Saints 2023 third round pick out of TCU is the third string running back, but Miller had a knee injury which is worth monitoring which has kept him out the first two weeks, but Miller is expected to play in week 3 with Miller making his first NFL start. Tony Jones Jr. the fourth string running back who got promoted to backup running back due to injuries had 2 rushing touchdowns in week 2 on Monday Night Football against Carolina, so he should retain that role while splitting carries with Kendre Miller.


New Orleans has Cameron Jordan at 4-3 left end, but their starting 4-3 right end Carl Granderson struggled against Donovan Smith the Kansas City Chiefs left tackle. Isaiah Foskey, the New Orleans Saints 2023 second round pick out of Notre Dame beat out Payton Turner the New Orleans Saints 2021 first round pick for the backup 4-3 right end job. Tanoh Kpassagnon is the backup 4-3 left end behind Cameron Jordan, while Payton Turner has been relegated to third string. Khalen Sanders the backup defensive tackle on the Kansas City Chiefs and Nathan Shepherd the backup defensive tackle on the New York Jets both have had potential to start for years since both FCS players came out of college for their respective NFL Drafts in 2018 and 2019, but the New Orleans Saints upgraded at defensive tackle by gambling on both players because I wasn't sold on the other players that New Orleans had at defensive tackle last year. New Orleans also has 2023 first round pick Bryan Bresse for depth after spending a first round pick on the former Clemson defensive tackle with the pick that New Orleans acquired when trading former head coach Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos.


New Orleans has Pete Werner at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Demario Davis at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Zack Baun at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Nephi Sewell is the backup 4-3 right outside linebacker and D'Marco Jackson is the backup 4-3 middle linebacker. When the Saints run a nickel defense Baun will be the backup outside linebacker while Jackson remains the backup middle linebacker.


New Orleans has Marshon Lattimore at field corneback, Paulson Adebo at boundary cornerback, and Alontae Taylor at nickel cornerback. Marcus Maye is the starting strong safety and Tyrann Mathieu is the starting free safety. Adebo is gonna be back in week 5, but Marcus Maye is still serving a suspension and New Orleans doesn't have depth at strong safety. New Orleans lacks depth in the secondary and to make matters worse New Orleans is going from having co defensive coordinators in 2022 to hiring former Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods as their new defensive coordinator in 2023.


Why the New England Patriots Will Win: New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has an average starting offensive line featuring Trent Brown at left tackle, Cole Strange at left guard, David Andrews at center, Michael Onwenu at right guard, and Riley Reiff at right tackle. New England will have their offensive line at full health for the first time all season. New England Patriots 2023 fourth round pick Sidy Sow out of Eastern Michigan is the backup left guard to Cole Strange. New England Patriots 2023 fourth round pick Jake Andrews out of Troy is the backup center to David Andrews. Atonio Mafi, New England's 2023 fifth round pick is the backup right guard to Michael Onwenu. New England traded for Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr. who will be the backup right tackle to Riley Reiff. I'm not sold on Calvin Anderson as the backup left tackle, but my guess is he's sa fill in until Connor McDermott returns from injured reserve. Offensive tackle depth is gonna be an issue if anything happens to Trent Brown or Riley Reiff this season. New England didn't have Reiff during the first two weeks and didn't have Trent Brown versus Miami.


New England has JuJu Smith-Schuster as their flanker wide receiver. DeVante Parker is the secondary wide receiver after getting a contract extension making $11 million per year following JuJu Smith-Schuster getting a three year contract in Free Agency, but got ruled out in week 1 before returning in week 2. Kendrick Bourne takes over at slot receiver thanks to Tyquan Thornton being placed on the injured reserve. Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte will be the backup wide receivers with New England having more depth at wide receiver. Matthew Slater is the number six wide receiver on this depth chart until Tyquan Thornton is cleared from the injured reserve list as Bill Belichick called Matthew Slater the best return specialst he's ever coached. New England has Hunter Henry as their starting tight end and Mike Gesicki is the backup tight end. Both tight ends are capable of starting, but New England usually carries three or four tight ends compared to two tight ends.


New England has Rhamondre Stevenson as their number one running back. Ezekiel Elliott New England's number two running back will probably be the third down back since he's better in pass protection as well as the goal line running back. Backup quarterback Matt Corral walked out on Bill O'Brien, so Bailey Zappe is now the backup once again.


New England has Lawrence Guy Sr. at 4-3 right end when the Patriots run a 4-3 defense as well as 3-4 right end. Davon Godchaux will play 4-3 defensive tackle as well as 3-4 nose tackle in Bill Belichick's hybrid defense. Deatrich Wise Jr. will play 4-3 left end and 3-4 left end. Christian Barmore will play 4-3 defensive tackle in New England's hybrid defense while being used as a backup 3-4 right end. Keion White New England's 2023 second round pick out of Georgia Tech is the backup 3-4 left end. The last time, New England had this much depth at 3-4 defensive end, the New England Patriots went 18-0 before losing Super Bowl 42. The only weakness on this defensive line is there is a lack of depth at 3-4 nose tackle if something happens to Davon Godchaux. My educated guess is Christian Barmore is the backup to both Lawrence Guy Sr. and Davon Godchaux which is why Bill Belichick didn't add a backup nose tackle to the 53 man roster.


New England has Matthew Judon at 4-3 right outside linebacker and 3-4 right outside linebacker who should be an every down player regardless if New England is running 4-3, 3-4, or nickel. Ja'Whaun Bentley is the starting 4-3 middle linebacker as well as the 3-4 middle linebacker. Jahlani Tavai will play 4-3 left outside linebacker and 3-4 middle linebacker. Josh Uche will play next to Matthew Judon at 3-4 left outside linebacker in 3-4 schemes only. Matthew Judon and Josh Uche were the only edge rusher tandem to have 10 or more sacks in the NFL last year, so it's possible that this pass rusher tandem can carry the New England Patriots to wins this season. Mack Wilson and Marte Mapu, New England's 2023 third round pick out of Sacramento State are the two backup 3-4 middle linebackers. Matthew Judon is expected to miss time with an injury.


New England Patriots 2023 first round pick Christian Gonzalez is out for the year, so J.C. Jackson who admitted he's not 100 percent is taking over for Gonzalez. Jack Jones played boundary cornerback during his rookie season against number two wide receivers and retains that role to start 2023, but will be out in week 1. Jonathan Jones was the field cornerback a season ago, but will probably be the nickel cornerback when Jack Jones comes back. Jonathan Jones is a boundary cornerback. Marcus Jones last years nickel cornerback will play dime cornerback once Jack Jones returns, but will play nickel against Philadelphia. All of New England's top four cornerbacks are injured which is why New England traded for J.C. Jackson despite his legal problems with the Chargers. Ameer Speed a 2023 sixth round pick out of Michigan State currently the dime cornerback despite how effective he can be in coverage at times until Jack Jones comes back. Shaun Wade is the quarter cornerback on New England's 53 man roster until Jack Jones comes backup. New England has Kyle Dugger at strong safety and Adrian Phillips starting at strong safety Jabrill Peppers and Jalen Mills are now backup safeties on this depth charts thanks to Devin McCourty officially retired from the New England Patriots after being the New England Patriots 2010 first round pick spending his entire NFL career in New England.


New England has Chad Ryland a 2023 fourth round pick out of Maryland as the starting kicker and Bryce Baringer a 2023 sixth round pick out of Michigan State who was my top punter in the 2023 NFL Draft as the starting punter. Marcus Jones is the kick returner and punt returner for the New England Patriots.


Prediction: New England is a 1 point favorite at -1. The over or under is 40 with 67% of the public betting on New England. The money line is +105 for New Orleans and -125 for New England. I like New Orleans to win and to cover with the over at +105. Bet $195 on this game for New Orleans and win up to $300 as long as the Patriots tie or lose.


Final Score Saints 23 Patriots 20 OT





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Baltimore Ravens 3-1-0
Versus
Pittsburgh Steelers 2-2-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


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Why the Baltimore Ravens Will Win: Lamar Jackson has Ronnie Stanley at left tackle, John Simpson at left guard, Tyler Linderbaum at center, Kevin Zeitler at right guard, and Morgan Moses is starting at right tackle. Patrick Mekhari is the backup left tackle, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu is the backup left guard, Ben Cleveland is the backup right guard, and Daniel Faalele is the backup right tackle with Baltimore having depth everywhere on their offensive line outside of center. John Simpson played right guard on the Raiders after playing left guard at Clemson. Honestly, there's a chance John Simpson can rebound at left guard in Baltimore an if he doesn't, Andrew Vorhees, Baltimore's 2023 seventh round pick out of USC will be ready to develop for training camp in 2024 once he recovers from the torn ACL he suffered when attempting to run the 40 yard dash at the 2023 NFL Combine. Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum missed weeks 2 and 3, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reported both offensive linemen were full practices against Cleveland. Linderbaum returned in week 4, but Stanley didn't. Ronnie Stanley fully practiced on Wednesday, so he should be back in week 5. Morgan Moses left week 4 against the Cleveland Browns with an injury. Baltimore should have Ronnie Stanley at left tackle, John Simpson at left guard, Tyler Linberbaum at center, Kevin Zeitler at right guard, and Patrick Mekari at right tackle if Morgan Moses cannot go on Sunday.


Baltimore's top three wide receivers are Rashod Bateman Baltimore's 2021 first round pick out of Minnesota, Odell Beckham Jr. whose getting $18 million on a one year deal, and Zay Flowers Baltimore's 2023 first round pick out of Boston College as a slot receiver in three wide receiver sets. Nelson Agholor, Devin Duvernay, and Tylan Wallace Baltimore's 2021 fourth round pick did enough to beat out Laquon Treadwell and James Proche Baltimore's 2020 sixth round pick for the number six wide receiver job after a slow start his first two seasons as Wallace was considered a top 100 player in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma State before falling to Baltimore in the fourth round. Rashod Bateman was a full practice in week 5 and Odell Beckham Jr. was a limited practice. If Baltimore's two big body wide receivers are out, Baltimore would be looking at Zay Flowers as the number one wide receiver with Nelson Agholor and Devin Duvernay complimenting Flowers in two wide receiver and three wide receiver sets.


Mark Andrews dominated in week 4 against the Cleveland Browns. Baltimore also has Isaiah Likely a top 5 tight end in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Coastal Carolina who will start at tight end in week 1. Charlie Kolar, a tight end that Baltimore drafted out of Iowa State in the 2022 NFL Draft is healthy after missing his entire rookie season with an injury and will be the backup tight end in week 1 with Mark Andrews out.


Gus Edwards and Justice Hill as the top two running backs on this depth chart with Keaton Mitchell as the third string running back now thanks to the season ending injury to J.K. Dobbins. I think Keaton Mitchell and Justice Hill have the most upside with Dobbins out of the lineup, but Gus Edwards is the starting running back. Baltimore still has a ton of depth in the backfield, but lacks that impact player starting at running back now with Baltimore most likely moving on from J.K. Dobbins in the offseason. Patrick Ricard is the starting fullback on the Balitmore Ravens and is one of the leagues better fullbacks.


Baltimore has depth at running back, fullback with Ben Mason on the practice squad as a backup fullback to Patrick Ricard, depth at wide receiver, and depth at tight end. Baltimore has way more depth at key positions compared to a season ago when dealing with injuries at playmaker. Tyler Huntley made a Pro Bowl with a lackluster supporting cast despite being Lamar Jackson's backup quarterback. Huntley may be able to start 1 or 2 games with this supporting cast, but if you are a Baltimore Ravens fan, you want Lamar Jackson starting all 17 games period. Baltimore does have Josh Johnson who played in this years NFC Championship blowout loss to Philadelphia as their third string quarterback, but he's mainly a practice squad guy who only gets promoted if something happens to Jackson or Huntley.


Baltimore has Broderick Washington their 2020 fifth round pick out of Texas Tech replacing Calias Campbell at 3-4 right end. Michael Pierce and Travis Jones are a potent combo 3-4 nose tackle. Justin Madubuike took over at 3-4 left end last year and the 2020 third round pick out of Texas A&M enters his second year as a starter in a contract year. Baltimore brought back Brent Urban for depth at 3-4 defensive end as Urban will be both the backup 3-4 right end and backup 3-4 left end at 5-techinique.


Baltimore has Odafe Oweh at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Tyus Bowser at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen are quite the tandem at 3-4 middle linebacker. David Ojabo is the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker with Jadeveon Clowney as the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Malik Harrison and Trenton Simpson are the backup 3-4 middle linebackers. Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo both missed practice with an injury this week. Oweh missed practice on Wednesday.


Marlon Humprhey is the field cornerback, but the only cornerback on this secondary that I trust. Unfortunately, Marlon Humprhey sufferred a foot injury that requires foot surgery and will miss Baltimore's home opener as well as Baltimore's week 2 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Marlon Humphrey is out in week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts and it sounds like he may be out in week 4 again after not practicing. The big question is can Marlon Humprhey return to Baltimore when the Ravens host the Colts in week 3. Baltimore signed Ronald Darby a former number one field cornerback that lost his job at boundary cornerback in Denver after playing with Philadelphia and Washington prior to joining Denver hoping this would offset the Humphrey injury until Marlon Humphrey returns.


Baltimore will have Marlon Humprhrey at field cornerback making his debut. Ronald Darby will be at boundary cornerback. Arthur Maulet a former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback for depth is Baltimore's new nickel cornerback. Rock Ya Sin is the dime cornerback now. Brandon Stephens, who recorded an interception last week is now the quarter cornerback. I don't trust Damarion Williams or Jalyn Armour Davis at cornerback, but Jalyn Armour Davis is the number six cornerback and he will not see the field. Baltimore has Kyle Hamilton at strong safety and Marcus Williams at free safety. Geno Stone is a great backup safety. Marcus Williams will be back in week 5 after missing the last three games.


Baltimore has Justin Tucker at kicker and Jordan Stout at punter. Devin Duvernay is expected to be the kick returner and punt returner for Baltimore if things hold up. Justice Hill the third string running back is the backup kick returner or second kick returner in kickoff formations with two kickoff returners. Zay Flowers is the backup punt returner if Devin Duvernay gets injured again since Duvernay suffered a season ending injury in 2022, but only has to worry about special teams in 2023.


Why the Pittsburgh Steelers Will Win: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett enters his second year in the NFL after being the face of the Pittsburgh Panthers football team that won the 2021 ACC Championship prior to being drafted twentieth overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft. Pickett threw 7 touchdowns and 9 interceptions as a rookie, but played well down the stretch even with a lackluster offensive line. Pittsburgh fixed their offensive line and will have Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle, Isaac Seumalo at left guard, Mason Cole at center, James Daniels at right guard, and Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle. Dan Moore Jr. left this game injured and Broderick Jones came in at left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor didn't practice on wednesday. James Daniels didn't practice ton wednesday.


Broderick Jones, the Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 first round pick out of Georgia was a good selection since he has far more long-term upside than Dan Moore Jr., but Dan Moore Jr. is ahead of Broderick Jones on the depth chart at the moment making Pittsburgh's 2023 first round pick the backup left tackle at the moment despite being in competition with Dan Moore Jr. for the starting left tackle job. Spencer Anderson is the backup left guard and backup center to start the season thanks to Pittsburgh trading away backup left guard Kevin Dotson to the Los Angeles Rams and third string offensive lineman Kendrick Green whose actually gonna be starting for the Houston Texans with Kenyon Green out for the year. Kendrick Green, Pittsburgh's 2021 third round pick out of Illinois is the backup center. Nate Herbig is the backup right guard. The only questionable decision the Steelers made was cutting Le'Raven Clark and making Dylan Cook the backup right tackle to Chukwuma Okorafor.


Mitchell Trubisky is back as the backup quarterback to Kenny Pickett after entering the 2022 NFL Season as the starting quarterback, but I don't trust him as the starter in the event that something happens to Kenny Pickett. The same could be said with third string quarterback Mason Rudolph who got a roster spot. Kenny Pickett is a game-time decision for week 5 after leaving week 4 with an injury.


Kenny Pickett has George Pickens as their flanker receiver thanks to Diontae Johnson's injury. Allen Robinson, who Pittsburgh traded for now goes from slot receiver to secondary wide receiver thanks to Diontae Johnson's injury. Pittsburgh has Calvin Austin III as the slot receiver until Diontae Johnson returns. Miles Boykin and former New England Patriots wide receiver Gunner Olszewski are the backup wide receivers on this depth chart.


Pittsburgh has Pat Freiermuth as their starting tight end and Darnell Washington as their third string tight end. Darnell Washington ended the draft process as my second best tight end in the 2023 NFL Draft. Connor Heyward is Pittsburgh's starting fullback, yet he's also listed as a tight end on Pittsburgh's depth chart when Pittsburgh doesn't want to deploy a fullback. Pat Freiermuth didn't practice, so there is the possibility Darnell Washington makes his first NFL start.


Kenny Pickett has potential to be a good starter, but I don't see him as a guy who can be a Pro Bowl quarterback. Some people in Pittsburgh may feel that way about Pickett, but it's understandble why the Steelers feel that way after passing on Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Dan Marino in 1983. Kenny Pickett's arm strength is better than Mac Jones was coming out of Alabama. Pittsburgh has their deepest team on offense since the Steelers went to their three Super Bowls in Super Bowl 40, Super Bowl 43, and Super Bowl 45. The problem is Kenny Pickett didn't enter the NFL having the same impact as Ben Roethlisberger, who set the bar sky high going undefeated as a rookie before losing to New England in the AFC Title game before helping the Steelers win Super Bowl 40 as the six seed the following year.


The biggest issue with this offense may be Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Canada is one of the most bland vanilla offensive coordinators in the NFL. Canada even admitted behind closed doors that he refuses to call hot routes. I call hot routes all the time when I play my older brother in Madden, so this feels like a red flag for me. Maybe that's just the gamer in me talking, but a few of my Fantasy Football friends on Twitter are posting Blame Canada gifs from the South Park movie when describing the Steelers offensive coordinator which is pretty messed up, yet justifiable when you consider how poorly Canada did last season. With all the depth Pittsburgh has on offense, there's no excuse not to call audibles and utilize more hot routes if you see a weakness on the opposing defense that you can exploit.


Pittsburgh has to decide whether to start Isaiah Loudermilk or DeMarvin Leal at 3-4 right end with Cameron Heyward injured at 3-4 right end. Keeanu Benton did great as the starting 3-4 nose tackle. Larry Ogunjobi remains the starting 3-4 left end. Montravius Adams who started at nose tackle last season, has been demoted to second string after Pittsburgh's 2023 second round pick out of Wisconsin wowed the organization and won the starting 3-4 nose tackle job. Pittsburgh has a ton of depth on their defensive line this season. Pittsburgh will have one of the leagues best defensive lines as long as Cameron Heyward remains healthy leading this core of defensive linemen. Now that Heyward is injured, I won't be surprised if this defensive line struggles until Heyward returns.


Pittsburgh has a top 5 edge rusher duo in the league with Alex Highsmith at 3-4 right outside linebacker and T.J. Watt at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Highsmith led the Steelers in sacks in 2022 after T.J. Watt got injured with Watt winning 2021 NFL Defensive Player Of The Year prior to his injury in 2022. Highsmith is making $17.01 million a year while Watt is making over $28 million a season with Pittsburgh's two starting edge rushers making over $45-million dollars combined. Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts both looked good enough to replace Myles Jack and Robert Spillane at 3-4 middle linebacker in Pittsburgh's preseason win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pittsburgh has Nick Herbig a sack artist at Wisconsin and the younger brother to Nate Herbig as their backup 3-4 right outside linebacker after being Pittsburgh's 2023 fourth round pick out of Wisconsin. Pittsburgh also added Markus Golden the starting pass rusher on the Arizona Cardinals as the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker to T.J. Watt. If Watt is less than 80 percent Pittsburgh can rotate Golden whose been effective as a starter as a situational pass rusher. Kwon Alexander the backup 3-4 middle linebacker did enough to show me he could be a viable replacement to Devin Bush as a 3-4 middle linebacker.


Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace were pushing each other for the field cornerback job as the number one cornerback during the preseason before Peterson won the number one cornerback job. Patrick Peterson should be the field cornerback covering number one receivers with Levi Wallcace covering number two receivers. Chandon Sullivan, Desmond King, and Joey Porter Jr. the son of former Steelers legend Joey Porter was drafted thirty second overall with the first pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. All three of those guys are pushing each other for the nickel cornerback job and I honestly won't be surprised if Keith Butler rotates all of those guys in at nickel cornerback. Sullivan is listed as Pittsburgh's nickel cornerback with Desmond King competing with Joey Porter Jr. for the dime cornerback job in dime packages. Pittsburgh has amazing cornerback depth with these five cornerbacks regardless of who plays in week 1.


Joey Porter Jr. returned to practice following Pittsburgh's first preseason win against Tampa Bay with Joey Porter's son getting an interception in practice. Joey Porter Jr. should supplant Chandon Sullivan at some point in the season if both Chandon Sullivan and Desmond King slip. James Pierre got demoted to the number six cornerback on this roster due to Corey Trice, Pittsburgh's 2023 seventh round who some mocked in the top 100 suffering a season ending injury.


Pittsburgh has Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal, and Miles Killebrew competing for the starting strong safety job next to Pro Bowl free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. It looks like Kazee will start at strong safety next to Fitzpatrick with Neal and Killebrew as the backup safeties. Pittsburgh has good depth at safety once again.


Pittsburgh has Chris Boswell at kicker and Pressley Harvin III the 2020 Ray Guy Award winner as their 2021 seventh round pick. Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh's 2022 fourth round pick is expected to play kick returner and punt returner for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023 after missing his rookie season with a season ending injury simply due to Pittsburgh's depth at wide receiver. Gunner Olszewski is the backup return specialist after being Pittsburgh's return specialist in 2022.


Prediction: Baltimore is a 4 point favorite at -4. The over or under is 38 with 60% of the public betting on Pittsburgh. The money line is -195 for Baltimore and +155 for Pittsburgh. I like Baltimore to win and Pittsburgh to cover with the under at +155. Bet $245 on this game for Baltimore and win up to $400 as long as the Ravens win by 3 or less.


Final Score Ravens 20 Steelers 17





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Cincinnati Bengals 1-3-0
Versus
Arizona Cardinals 1-3-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


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Why the Cincinnati Bengals Will Win: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will have Orlando Brown Jr. at left tackle, Cordell Volson at left guard, Ted Karras at center, Alex Cappa at right guard, and Jonah Williams at right tackle. D'Ante Smith Cincinnati's 2021 fourth round pick out of East Carolina is the backup left tackle to Orlando Brown Jr. with Jackson Carman as the swing tackle and backup right tackle to Jonah Williams. Max Scharping and Cody Ford are the backup guards at the moment with Trey Hill remaining the backup center to Ted Karras. Cincinnati needs their starters on the offensive line to stay healthy. The depth at offensive tackle and center isn't bad, but it's not great either. The sky is the limit for Joe Burrow if this offensive line can avoid injuries since Joe Burrow reached the AFC Title game with three injured starters on the offensive line last season.


Cincinnati has Ja'Marr Chase as their flanker wide receiver, Tee Higgins as their secondary wide receiver even though you can argue he's good enough to be a number one target when Chase is injured, and Tyler Boyd at slot receiver. Trenton Irwin won the number four wide receiver job. Charlie Jones, Cincinnati's 2023 fourth round pick out of Purdue beat out Trent Taylor to win the number five wide receiver job after a strong preseson as Jones was a top 100 prospect. Andrei Iosivas, Cincinnati's 2023 sixth round pick out of Princeton is the number six receiver on this depth chart. Cincinnati has more depth at wide receiver compared to a season ago with the current foundation of starting receivers and backup wide receivers in place. Tee Higgins may miss this week. Tyler Boyd will be the number two receiver if Higgins is out. Trenton Irwin would be the slot receiver


Irv Smith Jr. takes over at tight end replacing Hayden Hurst in 2023 who replaced C.J. Uzomah in 2022, but he's out in week 3 meaning that the Cincinnati Bengals have to depend on their wide receivers and running backs to win this game. Cincinnati has Joe Mixon as their starting running back, but none of the other three running backs in Trayveon Williams their 2019 sixth round pick, Chase Brown Cincinnati's 2023 fifth round pick out of Illinois, or Chris Evans a 2021 sixth round pick out of Michigan has ceased control of the number two running back job after the departure of Samaje Perine heading into training camp. Trayveon Williams, Cincinnati's 2019 sixth round pick out of Texas A&M won the backup running back job with Chase Brown as a third string running back, and Chris Evans a former Michigan running back whose been the third string running back for two seasons getting demoted to fourth string. The amazing thing is Evans still made Cincinnati's final roster. I can see Joe Mixon's backups having 100 total yard games on the ground and through the air if Cincinnati's best five starters are on Cincinnati's offensive line this season.


Cincinnati has Trey Hendrickson at 4-3 right end and Sam Hubbard complimenting him at 4-3 left end. DJ Reader and B.J. Hill compliment Hendrickson and Hubbard at 4-3 defensive tackle on the inside. Joseph Ossai is listed as the backup 4-3 right end with Cam Sample listed as the backup 4-3 left end, but Ossai has been ruled out. That means Myles Murphy, Cincinnati's 2023 first round pick out of Clemson will be the backup 4-3 right end to Trey Hendrickson with Joseph Ossai being ruled out for that game. Zach Carter, Cincinnati's 2022 third round pick out of Florida and Josh Tupou both looked great in their preseason debut. Jay Tufele, Jacksonville's 2021 fourth round pick that I once had a second to third round grade on did well enough to make the Cincinnati Bengals final 53 man roster.


Cincinnati has Germaine Pratt at 4-3 right outside linebacker and Logan Wilson at 4-3 middle linebacker with both guys locked up long-term which is outstanding news for the Bengals who run a combination of a 4-3 base defense, but mainly utilize a 4-2-5 nickel defense with Pratt being the starting outside linebacker and Wilson playing middle linebacker on the inside. Cincinnati can use Akeem Davis-Gaither as a 4-3 left outside linebacker, but he will probably be the main backup outside linebacker to Pratt with Markus Bailey being the main backup linebacker to Logan Wilson at middle linebacker.


Cincinnati has Chidobe Awuzie at field cornerback who should be ready for week 1 after beginning training camp on the PUP list, Cam Taylor-Britt as their boundary cornerback, and Mike Hilton as their nickel cornerback. Nick Scott will start at strong safety with Daxton Hill starting at free safety. D.J. Turner, Cincinnati's 2023 second round pick out of Michigan is the dime cornerback on this depth chart in dime packages, but is also the main backup cornerback behind Cincinnati's top three cornerbacks. D.J. Turner was Michigan's worst cornerback despite covering number one receivers who had his number like Marvin Harrison Jr. and Quentin Johnston. Running a 4.29 40 time helped his draft stock as Cincinnati gambled on Turner in the second round. D.J. Ivey Cincinnati's 2023 seventh round pick out of Miami FL is the quarter cornerback. Cincinnati has Jordan Battle as the backup strong safety to Nick Scott and while Tycen Andersen the 2022 fifth round pick out of Toledo won the backup free safety job with two interceptions against Green Bay in the preseason opener. Cam Taylor-Britt could be out in week 5 with a concussion which would force the Cincinnati Bengals to start their second round pick D.J. Turner.


Cincinnati has Evan McPhearson at kicker and Drue Chrisman at punter with Brad Robbins from Michigan in the 2023 NFL Draft pushing Chrisman for the punter job. Charlie Jones Cincinnati's 2023 fourth round pick out of Purdue beat out Chris Evans for the return specialist gig after playing return specialist on Purdue last season. Chris Evans is the backup kick returner while Trenton Irwin is the backup punt returner giving Cincinnati quite a bit of depth in terms of return specialists.


Why the Arizona Cardinals Will Win: Arizona Cardinals starting quarterback Kyler Murray tore his ACL in week 14 against the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football last year. Arizona hasn't named a starting quarterback yet, but it looks blatantly obvious that veteran Joshua Dobbs will start over Clayton Tune, Arizona's 2023 fifth round pick out of Houston.


Arizona has D.J. Humphries at left tackle who is one of the ten best left tackles in the league. The fact that Arizona extended Humphries after extending Kyler Murray tells me he's gonna remain a Cardinal. Elijah Wilkinson won Atlanta's starting left guard last year after beating out Jalen Mayfield in training camp for the left guard job in 2022 is now the Arizona Cardinals starting left guard. Hjalte Froholdt who was awful with the Cleveland Browns is the Arziona Cardinals starting center replacing Rodney Hudson who retired. To make matters worse, Pat Elflein who was supposed to challenge Froholdt for the starting center job suffered a season ending injury in training camp leading up to the second game of the preseason which essentially forces the Cardinals to start Hjalte Froholdt. Will Henrandez returns as the starting right guard. Paris Johnson Jr. who Kyler Murray wanted at right tackle got drafted sixth overall out of Ohio State.


Paris Johnson Jr. was my top ranked offensive tackle in the 2023 NFL Draft and with D.J. Humphries, Paris Johnson Jr. can be a bookend rather than someone who plays left tackle. Outside of Kelvin Beachum who started at right tackle last year, Arizona doesn't have a single quality backup on the offensive line at the momen since Arizona traded their backup left tackle Josh Jones to the Houston Texans in his contract year.


Arizona has Marquis Brown the first receiver drafted in the 2019 NFL Draft as their number one flanker receiver after releasing DeAndre Hopkins. My top three receivers that year were N'Keal Harry, Anthony Johnson, and Dillon Mitchell. Deebo Samuel was my number four receiver that year with A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf as my number five and six options and spoiler alert these were the three best wide receivers in 2019 unless you want to make a case for Terry McLaurin. I wasn't high on Marques Brown at all he was pure speed for me, but he played with Kyler Murray at Oklahoma so he clicks with Murray from a team chemistry standpoint, but with Murray out of the lineup you can't expect much from Marques Brown. I don't consider Marquis Brown a number one wide receiver even though he is currently Arizona's top receiver on the Cardinals depth chart. Rondale Moore, Arizona's 2021 second round pick is the number two secondary wide receiver. Zach Pascal the number four wide receiver on the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl 57 team with Arizona Cardinals new head coach Jonathan Gannon who was the Eagles defensive coordinator last year is the slot receiver. Stanford wide receiver Michael Wilson is the number four wide receiver on this depth chart, but he looked promising in his preseason debut. Arizona's 2023 third round pick may challenge Zach Pascal for a wide receiver spot since Pascal had some nice moments in Super Bowl 57, but was hardly utilized until Super Bowl 57. Michael Wilson went off in week 4 and he's jumped Zach Pascal as the slot receiver on this depth chart if you ask me.


Zach Ertz has been medically cleared to return so he should be Arizona's number one tight end and started in week 1. Trey McBride Arizona's 2022 third round pick out of Colorado State should improve. Geoff Swaim who started 29 of his 57 career starts over the last two seasons with the Tennessee Titans is the third string tight end. Michael Wilson's Stanford wide receiver teammate Elijah Higgins got claimed by Arizona off of waivers after being released by the Miami Dolphins. What's even more fascinating is that Elijah Higgins is the fourth string tight end on Arizona's depth chart. Arizona has a lot of depth at tight end.


Arizona has James Conner as their starting running back. Backup running back Keontay Ingram was good in college, but clearly doesn't have the same upside that James Conner has as a starting running back. James Conner does have a history with injuries and if he goes down, Arizona is in trouble.


Arizona's linebacker tandem of Kyzir White at 4-3 right outside linebacker and Zaven Collins at 4-3 left outside linebacker is a bright spot at outside linebacker, but Collins can also play inside in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. The safety tandem of Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson is the brighest spot on this defense. Ke'Trel Clark, Arizona's 2023 sixth round pick out of Louisville is starting in week 1 as the number two boundary cornerback next to Marco Wilson. Marco Wilson, Arizona's 2021 fourth round pick out of Florida has started next to Byron Murphy for the past two seasons, but Wilson now has to be Arizona's number one cornerback due to how depleted the Cardinals are at cornerback. Zaven Collins is the best linebacker now with Isaiah Simmons being demoted to a second team safety. Arizona stuck with a 3-4 despite hiring a 4-3 coach in Jonathan Gannon. Arizona might have the worst defense in the enitre NFL despite having some promising pieces on offense.


Matt Prater is Arizona's kicker. Greg Dortch who started a few games at wide receiver for Arizona last year isn't just the number five receiver on this depth chart. Dortch also happens to be the leader to win the return specialist job on both kickoff returns and punt returns.


Prediction: Cincinnati is a 3 point favorite at -3. The over or under is 44.5 with 59% of the public betting on Cincinnati. The money line is -175 for Cincinnati and +145 for Arizona. Take Cincinnati to win and cover with the over at -175. Bet $225 on this game for Cincinnati and win up to $400 as long as the Bengals win by 4 or more.


Final Score Bengals 35 Cardinals 10





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless


Philadelphia Eagles 4-0-0
Versus
Los Angeles Rams 2-2-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


I got College Scoreboards from the Scorestream app as well as NFL scores. I just feel like posting ten different scoreboards before getting to the article will cause readers to lose interest. Scoreboards for the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, and SEC are now up.












Why the Philadelphia Eagles Will Win: Philadelphia has Jalen Hurts at quarterback. Philadelphia has Jordan Mailata at left tackle, Landon Dickerson at left guard, Jason Kelce at center, Cam Jurgens at right guard, and Lane Johnson at right tackle. Cam Jurgens could miss a few weeks at right guard.


Philadelphia has A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith two wide receivers that are capable of being number one options at wide receiver. Smith played flanker receiver as a rookie, but became the secondary wide receiver once Philadelphia traded for A.J. Brown in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Que Watkins and Olamide Zaccheaus will split reps at slot receiver when Philadelphia deploys three wide receivers. Dallas Goedert remains a top 10 tight end in the NFL making him another asset in the passing game for quarterback Jalen Hurts.


Philadelphia has four different running backs. Those five running backs are D'Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott, and Trey Sermon whose currenlty on injured reserve. Philadelphia may be deeper at running back this season despite losing last years starting running back Miles Sanders.


Philadelphia has Josh Sweat at 4-3 right end, Fletcher Cox at 4-3 defensive tackle, Jordan Davis their 2022 first round pick at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Brandon Graham at 4-3 left end. Philadelphia has Derek Barnett as their backup 4-3 right end. Jalen Carter their 2023 first round pick out of Georgia is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle, but should rotate with Cox and Davis. Milton Williams, Philadelphia's 2021 third round pick is now the number four defensive tackle on this depth chart. Tarron Jackson is the backup 4-3 left end. Marlon Tuiolotu is still the third string 4-3 defensive tackle. There's been speculation that Philadelphia's new defensive coordinator may bring some 5-2-4 packages with three defensive tackles on the defensive line with Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, and Jalen Carter all playing along with some speculation about a 5-1-5 nickel defense that allows Philadelphia to bring five defensive linemen while also keeping five defensive backs for a nickel defense. If the execution of Sean Desai's playcalling is sound thanks to the departure of Jonathan Gannon, then this Philadelphia Eagles defense has a chance to be more lethal compared to a season ago.


Philadelphia has Zach Cunningham replacing Kyzir White at 4-3 right outside linebacker which I honestly have mixed feelings about. Nakobe Dean is starting at 4-3 middle linebacker now that T.J. Edwards is gone and he got placed on the injured reserve list in week 2. Haason Reddick is the starring 4-3 left outside linebacker. Cunningham and Reddick will be the two starters when Philadelphia deploys a 4-2-5 nickel package. Nolan Smith, Philadelphia's second 2023 first round pick is a depth player at outside linebacker. Christian Ellis is the other backup outside linebacker. If something happens to Nakobe Dean, my guess is Zach Cunningham moves back to middle linebacker, which is where he played at Vanderbilt, Houston, and Tennessee. That's probably why Philadelphia went into the season with only one middle linebacker on their active roster. To be fair, Shaun Bradley, Philadelphia's backup middle linebacker is on injured reserve which is something that I didn't take into account when assessing the linebacker room.


Philadelphia has Darius Slay at field cornerback who looked incredible against New England. Josh Jobe is filling in for James Bradbury at boundary cornerback with Bradbury injured. Kelee Ringo will play at nickel cornerback now with Avonte Maddox out for the season. Philadelphia replaced strong safety Marcus Epps and free safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Terrell Edmunds is making his second start of 2023 at strong safety. Philadelphia is starting Justin Evans over Sydney Brown with starting fere safety Reed Blankenship out of the lineup. Sydney Brown Philadelphia's 2023 third round pick out of Illinois feels like a better fit at free safety than Justin Evans. From what I've read though, it sounds like Evans is getting the start at free safety on Thursday.


Philadelphia has Jake Elliott at kicker and Boston Scott as their kick returner. Olamide Zaccheaus is the punt returner for Philadelphia. I didn't see a punter on the Eagles depth chart, so it's possible for kicker Jake Elliott to play both kicker and punter.


Why the Los Angeles Rams Will Win: Matthew Stafford is back from his injury and should be healthier in 2023. Los Angeles has Joseph Noteboom at left tackle, Steve Avila their 2023 second round pick out of TCU at left guard, Brian Allen at center, Tremayne Anchrum won the right guard job, and Rob Havenstein is starting at right tackle. Alaric Jackson is the backup left tackle starting at left tackle down the stretch with Noteboom injured. Zachary Thomas a 2022 sixth round pick out of San Diego State got cut by the Chicago Bears and picked up by the Los Angeles Rams as the backup left guard. Coleman Shelton is the backup center after starting some down the stretch. Kevin Dotson is the backup right guard, but Dotson feels like the one backup who could end up starting if Tremayne Anchrum slips up. Warren McClendon Jr. the starting right tackle at Georgia last year was the Los Angeles Rams 2023 fifth round pick. The Rams offensive line was healthy for the first month of the season. Joseph Noteboom got injured in the Monday Night game and his backup Alaric Jackson didn't practice on Wednesday. Both left tackles didn't practice this week.


Los Angeles has Cooper Kupp as their flanker number one wide receiver, but he's on injured reserve for the first four weeks of the season. Tutu Atwell will be the number two secondary wide receiver once Kupp returns, but will start out as the number one target. Van Jefferson will begin this season as the number two wide receiver rather than a usual slot receiver role. Ben Skowronek was huge in Super Bowl 56 and will be the slot receiver on the Rams during the first four weeks, but will revert to being the number four receiver on this depth chart once Kupp plays. The other two backup wide receivers on this depth chart are Puka Nacua a 2023 fifth round pick out of BYU whose now the number four wide receiver until Cooper Kupp returns in week 5 and Demarcus Robinson who was a backup wide receiver on the Baltimore Ravens as a number four wide receiver is now the number five wide receiver rounds out the depth chart at wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams until Cooper Kupp comes back.


The Los Angeles Rams have amazing depth at tight end too. Tyler Higbee is still the starting tight end on this team and has maintained his job as the starting tight end all the way back to 2017 after being drafted out of Western Kentucky in the 2016 NFL Draft. Brycen Hopkins is the backup tight end to Higbee as the 2020 third round pick out of Purdue that I interviewed at the 2020 Reese's Senior Bowl enters his contract year. Hunter Long a 2021 third round pick out of Boston College was acquired from the Miami Dolphins in the trade that sent the Los Angeles Rams best cornerback Jalen Ramsey to Miami. Tyler Davis a 2023 fifth round pick out of Clemson is the fourth string tight end that rounds out this depth chart.


Los Angeles has Kyren Williams as their starting running back. Ronnie Rivers is the backup running back. Zach Evans, the Los Angeles Rams 2023 sixth round pick out of Ole Miss still made this roster initially as the fourth string running back, but got promoted to third string when the Rams traded Cam Akers to Minnesota.


The Rams have a lot more depth at running back, wide receiver, tight end, and offensive line compared to a season ago when injuries began to pile up. As long as everyone on this offense is fully healthy, Stetson Bennett might be able to come in and make an impact if something happens to Matthew Stafford. For now, quarterback Matthew Stafford and Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp at wide receiver are still the core pieces on this offense.


Los Angeles has Aaron Donald back at 3-4 right end. I'm not sold on Bobby Brown III a 2021 fourth round pick out of Texas A&M as the starting nose tackle, and Kobie Turner a 2023 third round pick out of Wake Forest that was at the 2023 East West Shrine Bowl will be starting next to Aaron Donald at 3-4 left end. Larrell Murchison is the backup 3-4 right end to Aaron Donald Earnest Brown IV is a backup 3-4 left end. Aaron Donald is incredible and Turner is someone who I can see thriving at 3-4 left end surprising many this year. The rest of this group is a work in progress which means depth will be an issue if Aaron Donald gets shut down like he did in 2022.


Los Angeles will have Michael Hoecht at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Byron Young a 2023 third round pick out of Tennessee starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Ernest Jones a 2021 third round pick out of South Carolina and Christian Rozeboom are the two starters at 3-4 middle linebacker. The one depth player I like is Nick Hampton a 2023 fifth round pick out of Appalachian State. It's possible that Hampton starts later in the year if Hoecht slips up. The thing is Hoecht was an effective depth player that thrived on special teams during the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl 56 run where the Rams won Super Bowl 56.


Los Angeles has Decobie Durant at field cornerback, Ahkello Witherspoon at boundary cornerback, Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson a 2023 sixth round pick out of TCU at nickel cornerback, and Derion Kendrick at dime cornerback. Duke Shelley is the quarter cornerback and can ball out at times. Shaun Jolly is the number six cornerback and was once considered the number one cornerback on Appalachian State. John Johnson III will start at strong safety with Jordan Fuller at free safety. It's possible that Quentin Lake and Russ Yeast two safeties that the Rams drafted in the sixth and seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft see more playing time this year. Lake was a player I really liked as a backup coming out of UCLA while Yeast has been making a lot of noise for the Rams during the preseason.


Los Angeles has Brett Maher at kicker. Maher isn't perfect, but he's done well as a replacement to Matt Gay so far.


Prediction: Philadelphia is a 4 point favorite at -4. The over or under is 50 with 67% of the public betting on Philadelphia. The money line is -210 for Philadelphia and +170 for Los Angeles. I like Philadelphia to win and Los Angeles to cover with the over at +170. Bet $350 on this game for Los Angeles and win up to $500 as long as the Eagles win by 3 or less.


Final Score Eagles 30 Rams 28





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless



New York Jets 1-3-0
Versus
Denver Broncos 1-3-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


Speaking of Bill Clinton. Every week leading up to the College Football Playoff we will have Bill Clinton's College Football Playoff where Bill Clinton ranks the top 4 teams in College Football. This will also be the final year of this segment with the new 12 team playoff coming next season.


Bill Clinton's College Football Playoff Selection Special



  1. Georgia

    UGA goes WOOF WOOF after winning the National Championship once again. The National Champs are hoping to three peat.



  2. Michigan

    Michigan has supplanted Ohio State as the team in the Big 10. Michigan rocks the maize and blue like Monica Lewinsky.





  3. USC

    The USC Trojans have a Heisman winning quarterback in Caleb Williams. Caleb Williams has a chance to be the first Heisman Trophy winner to repeat since Archie Griffin. Caleb now has 13 touchdowns in 3 games or 2 and a 1/2 games if you want to get technical.





  4. Florida State

    Florida State slaughtered Brian Kelly and LSU in Camping World Stadium. Florida State looks like a top four team at the moment. Florida State also beat Clemson on the road clearing the path for Florida State to potentially finish the season without a loss.






Why the New York Jets Will Win: New York will not have Aaron Rodgers for the rest of this season. Zach Wilson the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft takes over as the starting quarterback for the rest of the season. The New York Jets have Duane Brown at left tackle, Laken Tomlinson at left guard, Connor McGovern at center, Alijah Vera-Tucker at right guard, and Mekhi Becton at right tackle. Max Mitchell is the backup left tackle, Wes Schwetzwer is the backup left guard, Joe Tippmann the New York Jets 2023 second round pick out of Wisconsin is the backup center, and Billy Turner is both the backup right guard and backup right tackle for the New York Jets on the offensive line. I love the Jets starters on the offensive line, but Joe Tippmann is the only backup I like on this offensive line. The rest of these backups are solid for backups, but probably not guys that I would feel comfortable with as starters on the New York Jets offensive line.


The New York Jets have last years Offensive Rookie Of The Year in Garrett Wilson entering his sophomore season as the flanker wide receiver. Allen Lazard is the secondary wide receiver after being the number one wide receiver for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay a season ago. Mecole Hardman goes from being a number four wide receiver in Kansas City to a slot receiver on the New York Jets. Randall Cobb, another former Packer that played with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay is the number four wide receiver on this depth chart.


Tyler Conklin is the starting tight end. C.J. Uzomah is the backup tight end. Jeremy Ruckert is the third string tight end.


New York has two elite running backs in Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook. Cook is the better pass blocker than Hall, but Hall is younger, more explosive, and the better pass catcher out of the backfield. Breece Hall started and did well as a rookie before his season ending injury. Dalvin Cook will be the backup running back after being the starter for most of his career. Michael Carter, New York's 2021 third round pick was a good at everything in college, but couldn't maintain the starting running back job after Breece Hall got drafted. He couldn't even keep James Robinson from getting a bulk of carries once Hall got injured. That's why Michael Carter got demoted to third string running back heading into his third season. Isreal Abanikanda a 2023 fifth round pick out of Pittsburgh is the fourth string running back.


The New York Jets have Carl Lawson at 4-3 right end, John Franklin-Myers at 4-3 left end, Jermaine Johnson II a 2022 first round pick from Florida State as the backup 4-3 right end, and Will McDonald IV a 2023 first round pick from Iowa State as the backup 4-3 left end. Michael Clemons a 2022 fourth round pick enters year two and nearly beat out Will McDonald IV for a backup spot and he's a third string 4-3 defensive end. Carl Lawson was inactive, so Jermaine Johnson II got his first career start at 4-3 right end after dominating as a situational pass rusher in limited action as a rookie. New York has amazing depth off the edge at 4-3 defensive end.


New York had the second best 4-3 defensive tackle behind Chris Jones in the NFL last year with Quinnen Williams who was the only defensive tackle besides Jones to have 10 or more sacks. Al Woods, beat out both Quinton Jefferson and Solomon Thomas for the 4-3 defensive tackle job next to Quinnen Williams. Both Quinton Jefferson and Solomon Thomas are good backups at 4-3 defensive tackle. There's a lot of quality bodies on Robert Saleh's defensive line once again with even more depth than a season ago.


New York will start Jamien Sherwood at 4-3 right outside linebacker, C.J. Mosley at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Quincy Williams at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Quincy Williams will play outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense while C.J. Mosley will play middle linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense.


The New York Jets have the 2022 Defensive Rookie Of The Year Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner at field cornerback covering number one wide receivers. D.J. Reed is the boundary cornerback covering number two wide receivers. Michael Carter II is back at nickel cornerback. Bryce Hall is the dime cornerback in a contract year. Jordan Whitehead is the starting strong safety with Tony Adams starting at free safety thanks to Chuck Clark's season ending injury. Ashtyn Davis is the backup strong safety and Adrian Amos is the backup free safety. D.J. Reed got a concussion in the Sunday Night game. Reed didn't practice on wednesday and might be out in week 5.


Greg Zuerlein is the starting kicker, but he's out in week 2. Thomas Morstead is the punter. Mecole Hardman Jr. is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner.


Why the Denver Broncos Will Win: Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson has Garrett Bolles at left tackle, Ben Powers the former Baltimore Ravens left guard as the Denver Broncos new left guard, Lloyd Cushenberry III gets a second chance as the starting center after once losing the center job to Graham Glasgow center, Quinn Meinerz is a stable piece at right guard, and Mike McGlinchey the former San Francisco 49ers right tackle is now Denver's starting right tackle. Denver is capable of posting a winning record if Powers, Cushenberry III, and McGlinchey all step up, but the Broncos could just as easily have another losing season if those three struggle or left tackle Garrett Bolles suffers another season ending injury like he did in week 3 against San Francisco back in 2022. That's what is so compelling about this years Denver Broncos team. Luke Wattenberg and Alex Forsyth the backup and third string centers are the only depth players on this entire offensive line that I like.


Wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton are both capable of being Russell Wilson's number one target at the flanker receiver. Both receivers are top targets. Denver drafted Marvin Mims Jr. out of Oklahoma and he's won the slot receiver job thanks to Denver's starting slot receiver Tim Patrick suffering a season ending injury in training camp which landed him on injured reserve for the entire season. Denver also cut K.J. Hamler from their active roster, so Brandon Johnson an undrafted wide receiver from Central Florida that spent last season on Denver's practice squad as rookie will have to start if Jeudy misses week 1 since Denver only has four receivers on the depth chart when taking Tim Patrick's injury along with Hamler being cut from this roster into consideration. Adam Trautman Sean Payton's former tight end in New Orleans is now re-united with Payton in Denver as the 2020 third round pick from Dayton enters a contract year. Greg Dulcich was the starting tight end late in the season and he barely beat out Trautman for the starting tight end job. Dulcich has been on injured reserve for a few weeks now.


Javonte Williams is the starting running back for the Denver Broncos back from his season ending injury in 2022. Samaje Perine the backup running back on the Cincinnati Bengals last year is the backup running back on Denver and Perine could break out if Williams gets injured again since Denver lacks a third string running back. Michael Burton, the starting fullback on the Kansas City Chiefs last year is now the fullback on the Denver Broncos. Javonte Williams got injured in week 4 against Chicago and he did not practice on wednesday.


Denver now has Zach Allen at 3-4 right end with D.J. Jones at 3-4 nose tackle. Jonathan Harris is the 3-4 left end. I like Allen and Jones, but Harris could be a weak link on this defensive line for some of the leagues best guard tandems to exploit.


Denver cut their startin 3-4 right outside linebacker. Frank Clark got ruled out for week 2 and did not practice heading into week 3. Alex Singleton was a top 10 linebacker on Pro Football Focus and he's back at 3-4 middle linebacker. Josey Jewell is also back at 3-4 middle linebacker. Both inside linebackers were missing tackles left and right against Miami. Denver has Nik Bonitto as their backup 3-4 right outside linebacker, Baron Browning their 2021 second round pick is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker once he gets reactivated off the PUP list, and Drew Sanders their rookie linebacker out of Arkansas as the backup 3-4 middle linebacker. Denver will most likely start their 2022 second round pick Nik Bonitto out of Oklahoma this week with Frank Clarks backup Baron Browning also currently still on the PUP list. Denver is just as bad at edge rusher as the Arizona Cardinals and you could make an honest argument that Denver is worse now.


Denver has Patrick Surtain II at field cornerback and he's one player in the 2021 NFL Draft that's guaranteed a fifth year option after this season. Damarri Mathis surprised everyone when he took control of the boundary cornerback job as a 2022 fourth round pick out of Pittsburgh. K'Wuan Williams entered training camp as the nickel cornerback, but got placed on the PUP list. Riley Moss, Denver's 2023 third round pick out of Iowa was a dime cornerback in training camp, but he's currently listed as a backup despite if K'Wuan Williams being on the PUP list. It's possible that Vance Joseph uses him as a wild card player in random plays on certain situations hoping to confuse Jimmy Garoppolo. I'd give Moss a shot and find out what he can do with Williams injured because he's Denver's fourth best corner in my honest opinion. Kareem Jackson will most likely start for an injured Caden Sterns for two more weeks with Sterns returning from injured reserve around the same time as Dulcich right after Denver's road game in Chicago and home game with New York in week 5. Justin Simmons practiced in week 3 after missing week 2. He was a limited practice on Wednesday. Denver has JL Skinner, their 2023 sixth round pick out of Boise State back as their backup strong safety until Caden Sterns returns with Delarrin Turner-Yell as the backup free safety.


Denver replaced Brandon McManus with Will Lutz. I feel like downgraded here, but at least Sean Payton has a kicker he is familiar with.


Prediction: Denver is a 1 point favorite at -1. The over or under is 43 with 60% of the public betting on Denver. The money line is +105 for New York and -115 for Denver. Take Denver to win and to cover with the over at -115. Bet $185 on this game for Denver and win up to $300 as long as the Broncos win or tie.


Final Score Broncos 30 Jets 23





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless


Kansas City Chiefs 3-1-0
Versus
Minnesota Vikings 1-3-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


All ten teams in the BFFL League have team logos. I'll use this section to rank where the 10 teams stand on Yahoo.



  1. Fields Of Dreams 3-1

    Bantle Bowl Championships: 1

    Bantle Bowl I (2015)

    Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

    Bantle Bowl I (2015), Bantle Bowl II (2016)

    BFFL Playoff Record: 3-1
    Fields Of Dreams named after Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields was named Jimmy after the manager of this team when Jimmy won Bantle Bowl I back in 2015.

    Rival: Jimmy Dicken

    Rival: Selvan Thamilavel

    All Time Winning Percentage: .496 56-57 is Fiels Of Dreams's All Time Record from 2013-2022 while leaving from 2019-2021 before returning in 2022 with 56 wins in 113 total games played gives Fields Of Dreams a .496 All Time Winning Percentage.

    Team Summary: For the second year in a row, Fields Of Dreams had a top two draft pick and instead of keeping that pick and the player he drafted, he traded the player he drafted away. Fields Of Dreams will have Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, Josh Allen, Travis Kelce, and either CeeDee Lamb or Nick Chubb, potentially both if I don't use a 2024 keeper on either player next season.


    Projected Record: 5-10 If Fields Of Dreams gets Swept by The Avengers this is a 1-14 team. Fields Of Dreams is projected to beat my team Gangster Squad in week 9 when a majority of my core players have a bye week as well as sweep The Avengers according to Yahoo giving Fields Of Dreams a 3-12 ceiling as well as the only F grade in the 2023 BFFL Draft. That averages out to a 2-13 record on the season, but Fields Of Dreams won three games that they were projected to lose. This improves that initial projection from August to 5-10.


    Previously Ranked: 2nd



  2. Taco Corp 3-1

    Bantle Bowl Championships:

    0

    Bantle Bowl Appearances:

    0

    BFFL Playoff Record: 1-1
    Selvan is 1-1 in the playoffs, but he's 2-1 if you count their third place win over H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes last year. I'll leave that record up for debate between Selvan and our readers.

    Manager:
    Selvan Thamilavel

    Rival: Jimmy Dicken

    All Time Winning Percentage: .344 42-80 is Taco Corp's All Time Record from 2015-2023 with 42 wins in 122 total games played gives Taco Corp a .344 All Time Winning Percentage. This low winning percentage is largely due to having the leagues only winless season going 0-14 in 2019. Selvan won the consolation bracket two years later in 2021 before getting a third place finish last season.

    Team Summary: Selvan chose to keep Saquon Barkley at running back and Justin Fields at quarterback. Selvan spent his first pick on Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to pair with Justin Fields in Superflex. Last year, Selvan took Kenneth Walker III in the eleventh round and could have kept him over Fields, but opted for Fields as a Chicago Bears fan. He also traded his first round pick for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill who should be a top 5 wide receiver in 2023 as long as Tua Tagovailoa is healthy. Jahmyr Gibbs, Zamir White, and Khalil Herbert are the replacement options to Kenneth Walker III. Calvin Ridley is a great WR2 to yreek Hill. Jared Goff is a nice backup quarterback option for a seventh round pick while eighth round pick David Njoku is a top 10 tight end. A tight end has never caught 40 or more receptions with Deshaun Watson at quarterback. Njoku has to buck this trend if Selvan wants to make it back to the playoffs in 2023 after making the playoffs for the first time a season ago. Selvan drafted Jahmyr Gibbs at running back, Quinton Johnston of the Los Angeles Chargers at wide receiver, and Tank Dell the Houston Texans 2023 third round pick as potential rookie keepers to stash if any of those three break out.



    Projected Record: 10-5 Taco Corp's floor is 7-10 if they get swept by Riley and Jason the two owners who haven't set their lineups and Selvan's ceiling as an owner for 2023 is 12-3 as Yahoo gave Taco Corp the best regular season record at 12-3 along with an A grade during the 2023 BFFL Draft. Selvan went 10-5 a season ago. Taco Corp should be the second wild card team from the Champions Division along with either Gangster Squad or The Chosen One's depending on how the season plays out. If someone keeps Jason or myself from winning Bantle Bowl IX it will probably be Selvan. Taco Corp lost a game they were projected to win in week 2 which alters their projection from 10-5 to 9-6, but they also won a game in week 4 which they werre projected to lose which puts Selvan at 10-5 on the year for his projection.


    Previously Ranked: 5th



  3. The Chosen One's 2-2

    Bantle Bowl Championships: 3

    BFFL League Champion (2010), Bantle Bowl II (2016) and Bantle Bowl VI (2020)

    Bantle Bowl Appearances: 6

    BFFL Finalist (2010), Bantle Bowl I (2015), Bantle Bowl II (2016), Bantle Bowl IV (2018), Bantle Bowl V (2019), Bantle Bowl VI (2020), and Bantle Bowl VIII (2022)

    BFFL Playoff Record: 9-5
    The Chosen One's, also the commissioners team are the most consistent team in the league making the playoffs seven out of eight years while also appearing as a finalist in six of the leagues last eight Bantle Bowls. The Chosen One's won the league as a 4 seed in 2016 and he won the league again four years later in 2020. The Chosen One's best regular season came in 2018 where the team had a 13-1 regular season before losing to a 12-2 Breez Nuts team in Bantle Bowl IV. This is also one of the shrewdest and most aggressive teams in Free Agency on the waiver wire. This is a team that made the most draft day trades in 2020 and 2021 while making the second most draft day trades in 2022 and currently trails me by 2 or 3 trades in our ongoing 2023 BFFL Draft.

    Manager:
    Jason Bantle

    Rival: Chris Ransom Jason and Chris have met in three playoff matchups including two championship games where each owner won once.

    All Time Winning Percentage: .588 194-135-1 is The Chosen One's All Time Record from 2003-2023 with 194 wins in 330 total games with The Chosen One's having a .588 winning percentage.

    Team Summary: The Chosen One's opted to load up on running backs by using a first round keeper on Christian McCaffrey. Trading their fourth round keeper Tyreek Hill to get Austin Ekeler with the sixth pick in the first round. That decision has paid off with Christian McCaffrey and Austin Ekeler making the big plays and dominating in week 1. Then Jason drafted Bijan Robinson in the second round, but later traded him to get Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow in the first round since Jason is a Bengals fan in real life.


    Other notable players on The Chosen Ones include Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson, Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner as his backup running back, and Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson. Jason also drafted three rookies to stash including Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison, and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Jason drafted four rookies if you count the fact that he drafted Bijan before trading his draft rights along with his keeper rights away for Joe Burrow.


    Projected Record: 11-4 Yahoo gave Jason Bantle the best draft grade of any of the league owners with an A+ grade. Jason won in week 1 and he should sweep me in week 15. The Chosen One's are one of the front runners to get a top 2 seed in the 2023 BFFL Playoffs.


    Jason and myself are easily the two odds on favorites for Bantle Bowl IX in 2023 heading into the 2023 NFL Season with one of us probably winning the Contenders Division in 2023. Honestly, I'd prefer winning Bantle Bowl IX in 2023 if I'm being completely honest. Jason got an A+ grade on Yahoo, he's projected to finish 11-4 on Yahoo, but has a ceiling to go 13-2 if he can sweep my team during rivalry week. That averages out to a median record of 12-3. With both Gangster Squad and The Chosen One's projected at 12-3, total points scored throughout the season will matter in spades when it comes to getting the top seed in the 2023 BFFL Playoffs. Jason lost a game he was favored to win in week 4 which drops his projected win total from 12-3 to 11-4.


    Previously Ranked: 1st




  4. H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes 2-2

    Bantle Bowl Championships: 1

    Bantle Bowl VII (2021)

    Bantle Bowl Appearances: 1

    Bantle Bowl VII (2021)

    BFFL Playoff Record: 2-5
    Both of H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes two playoff wins came during their championship season in 2021 which was a year where I missed the playoffs. He defeated George Pabst as the fourth and final seed before defeating The Avengers in the Championship round back in 2021. H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes went 12-2 back in 2019 and had the leagues best regular season record that year before losing in the playoffs two years prior to winning Bantle Bowl VII.

    Manager:
    Heath Berman

    Rival: Riley Stokosa

    All Time Winning Percentage: .488 119-125 is H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes All Time Record from 2008-2023 with 119 wins in 244 total games played gives H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes a .488 All Time Winning Percentage.

    Team Summary: Heath drafted Jalen Hurts in the first round and Stefon Diggs in the second round retaining his two best players from his 2022 team that made the BFFL Playoffs after winning Bantle Bowl VII in 2021. Having wide receivers like Davante Adams, D.J. Moore, and Deebo Samuel as a flex to compliment Diggs makes Heath team potentent offensively. Heath also used a twelfth round keeper on Drake London. Joe Mixon, Rachaad White, and Rhamondre Stevenson are a solid trio of running backs with Mixon being the only running back that is considered a bell cow among those three. Chigoziem Okonkwo is Heath's starting tight end. Daniel Jones, Kyler Murray, and Sam Howell are all potential QB2 options that Heath can rotate in various weeks.


    Projected Record: 7-8 Heath has two toss up games against Hallmahomsey who has Patrick Mahomes now and The Chosen One's who haven't set their lineups in the first two weeks. H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes and Car RamRod are projected to tie 146.15 to 146.15 in week 3 after those games. H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes are projected to get swept by Taco Corp and Gangster Squad. This means Heath Berman's Vinegar Strokes has a floor of 4-11 if this team gets swept in all five toss up games and has a ceiling of 9-6 if the former 2021 BFFL Champion manages to win all five of those contests. That averages out to the 6-9 record that Yahoo projects H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes to have in 2023. Heath defeated The Chosen One's which improves his projected win total from 6-9 to 7-8. Heath also defeated Car RamRod who was a slight favorite which improves this teams projected record to 8-7. Heath lost a game against Selvan that he was projected to win in week 4 which reverts his projected win total to 7-8. H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes can use can use a first and second round keeper on Jalen Hurts and Stefon Diggs reloading his team for 2024 where he should have a chance to win the Contenders Division next season in 2024 with a strong draft next Summer.





  5. Hallsmahomsey 2-2

    Bantle Bowl Championships:

    0

    Bantle Bowl Appearances:

    0

    BFFL Playoff Record: 0-1
    Hallsmahomsey formerly known as TaylorDactals formerly known as RES Express, Done, and Kerryon My Wayward Son went 13-1 back in 2020 after this team replaced former 2014 league champion Anti-Bantle. Kerryon My Wayward Son ran into my 8-6 team with Tom Brady, Dalvin Cook, and Stefon Diggs back in 2020 and the rest is history as my team got its first playoff win over this team. Kerryon My Wayward Son changed their team name to TaylorDactals in 2021 after drafting Jonathan Taylor with their first round pick.

    Manager:
    Riley Stokosa

    Rival: Heath Berman

    All Time Winning Percentage: .506 40-39 is Hallsmahomsey's All Time Record from 2018-2023 with 40 wins in 79 total games played gives Hallsmahomsey a .506 All Time Winning Percentage.

    Team Summary: Riley took Patrick Mahomes second overall in a very wise decision after I didn't use a keeper on Mahomes. Amon Ra-St. Brown the Detroit Lions wide receiver is a good number one option for Mahomes with rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson as his QB2.


    Projected Record: 6-9 Yahoo gave Riley a 4-11 record. At the same time, Riley has the ceiling to go 8-7 and if that happens, then Riley can potentially win the tiebreaker for most points in the division in large part due to having the reigning MVP as the face of his franchise. Hallsmahomsey won in week 1 as an underdog, but he lost as a favorite in week 4 which reverts their initial projection to 6-9.


    Previously Ranked: 3rd



  6. Threat Level Midnight 2-2

    Bantle Bowl Championships: 3

    Bantle Bowl III (2017), Bantle Bowl IV (2018), and Bantle Bowl V (2019)

    Bantle Bowl Appearances: 3

    Bantle Bowl III (2017), Bantle Bowl IV (2018), and Bantle Bowl V (2019)

    BFFL Playoff Record: 6-2
    Threat Level Midnight formerly known as Breez Nuts was the only team to three peat in the BFFL over the past eight years. This team was known as Breez Nuts when Drew Brees played for the New Orleans Saints, but was later renamed Threat Level Midnight after Drew Brees retired. This team is 6-0 in their last six playoff contests despite being absent from the playoffs since 2019. The 2017 Breez Nuts Team and the 2022 Gangster Squad teams are the only teams to win the Bantle Bowl and be crowned league champion after finishing with the leagues best regular season record. Breez Nuts went 12-2 in 2018 getting the 2 seed after being swept by my team during the regular season, yet still ended up defeating my team in the playoffs and a 13-1 Chosen One's Team that had the leagues best record in 2018. Breez Nuts would defeat The Chosen One's in a 2019 rematch of Bantle Bowl IV during Bantle Bowl V to three peat after The Chosen One's upset top seed H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes while Breez Nuts handed my team its fourth playoff loss to the eventual league champion in five years.

    Manager:
    Mitch Pabst

    Rival: George Pabst

    All Time Winning Percentage: .618 89-55 is Threat Level Midnight's All Time Record from 2015-2023 with 89 wins in 144 total games played gives Threat Level Midnight a .618 All Time Winning Percentage.

    Team Summary: Mitch loaded up with weapons like A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, and Dameon Pierce in the first four rounds before taking Aaron Rodgers in the fifth round. After drafting Terry McLaurin in the sixth round and Dallas Goedert in the seventh round, Mitch added Derek Carr as his QB2 in superflex. If Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr bounce back on their new NFL teams after the Packers traded Rodgers to the Jets while Carr dominates in New Orleans, then Threat Level Midnight has a chance to play dark horse in 2023.


    Projected Record: 9-6 Yahoo projects Threat Level Midnight at 4-11 and gave his draft a D grade. Threat Level Midnight could win a mininum of 7 games and a maximum of 9 games after examining their schedule on a week to week basis. Threat Level Midnight was projected to lose to Millenial Menace in week 1, but won which improves Threat Level Midnight's original projection from 7-8 to 8-7. He was also projected to lose in week 4, but won improving his projection on the season to 9-6 now.


    Previously Ranked: 9th




  7. Car RamRod 2-2

    Bantle Bowl Championships:

    0

    Bantle Bowl Appearances:

    0

    BFFL Playoff Record: 0-0
    Andrew might the only owner without a playoff appearance, but I seriously believe he will break that drought in the BFFL this season since he's had a strong 2023 Draft. He also has his own Fantasy league which I take part in, but don't feature on the site. I did feature the league draft for his league on Restream which is on the Draft Utopia Youtube channel by the way. Andrew also helps with NFL Predictions, the Draft Utopia podcast when available, and also helps me run my Fantasy Hockey league on Yahoo.

    Manager:
    Andrew Kermish

    Rival: Gary Bantle

    All Time Winning Percentage: .364 44-77 is Car Ramrod's All Time Record from 2015-2023 with 44 wins in 121 total games played gives Car RamRod a .364 All Time Winning Percentage.

    Team Summary: Car RamRod took Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson in round 1, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in round 2, Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews in round 3, and Kenneth Walker III in round 4. Deshaun Watson is also his superflex quarterback complimenting Dak Prescott.


    Projected Record: 9-6 I thought Andrew Kermish killed this draft. Andrew is the only owner who hasn't been to the BFFL Playoffs in the past eight years, but he's helped me out with my Fantasy Hockey league, invited me to his Fantasy Football league, and been just an amazing friend to me over the years even contributing on my podcast while calling into both The Rich Eisen and Paul Finnebaum shows. Car RamRod's week 2 win over Taco Corp as an underdog changes their projected record from 8-7 to 9-6. CarRamRod lost as a favorite though reverting their initial projected record to 8-7. CarRamRod defeated my team in week 4 as underdogs to bring their projection back to 9-6.


    Previously Ranked: 8th



  8. The Avengers 2-2

    Bantle Bowl Championships:

    0

    Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

    Bantle Bowl III (2017) and Bantle Bowl VII (2021)

    BFFL Playoff Record: 2-2
    The Avengers went 12-3 securing the 2 seed in 2017 and then went 10-5 getting the 3 seed in 2021. The Avengers are 2-0 in the Semfiinals, but 0-2 in Bantle Bowls.

    Manager:
    Gary Bantle

    Rival: Andrew Kermish

    All Time Winning Percentage: .451 138-166-2 is The Avenger's All Time Record from 2003-2023 with 138 wins in 306 total games played gives The Avengers a .451 All Time Winning Percentage.

    Team Summary: The Avengers used a first round keeper on Travis Kelce. Gary used his second round pick on Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp who looks like he might have a hamstring injury. Javonte Williams in round 10 was a massive steal at running back while Jordan Love in the fifth round was considered a reach. Gary Bantle is a Green Bay Packers fan which is why his team is stashed with Packers.


    Projected Record: 6-9 Gary is projected to go 4-11 on Yahoo when examining the week by week schedules mainly due to Hallmahomsey and The Chosen One's not setting their week 1 lineups meaning The Avengers have a floor of 0-15 if this team manages to lose all 15 regular season games. Yahoo did give The Avengers a B+ grade and a projected 10-5 record with The Avengers winning the Contenders Division. I averaged the floor of 0-15 and the ceiling of 10-5 to get a 5-10 record. The most compelling team in the BFFL this year has to be The Avengers. The Avengers were underdogs in weeks 1 and 2 meaning their projected record improved from 5-10 to 7-8 now. The Avengers went from winning two games they were projected to lose to losing a game they were projected to win dropping them back to 6-9.


    Previously Ranked: 6th




  9. Millenial Menace 1-3

    Bantle Bowl Championships:

    0

    Bantle Bowl Appearances:

    0

    BFFL Playoff Record: 0-1
    Millenial Menace actually had the leagues best regular season record in 2021 and was the one seed. Unfortunately, Millenial Menace lost to eventual league champion H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes as the top seed back in 2021.

    Manager:
    George Pabst

    Rival: Mitch Pabst

    All Time Winning Percentage: .538 28-24 is Millenial Menace's All Time Record from 2020-2023 with 28 wins in 52 total games played gives Millenial Menace a .538 All Time Winning Percentage in 2023.

    Team Summary: Millenial Menace used a first round keeper on Jonathan Taylor. Millenial Menace used their second round pick on Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson has to play a full season for this team to win the Contenders Division, especially with Jonathan Taylor missing the first four games of the season. J'Maarr Chase at wide receiver remains a keeper on Millenial Menace only costing a fifth round pick after George drafted Chase in the seventh round when Chase dominated as a rookie before using a seventh round keeper on Chase in 2022. George can use a third round keeper on Chase in 2024 and a first round keeper on Chase in 2025 holding the Bengals best wide receiver hostage in Fantasy for two more seasons. Yahoo called ninth round selection Evan Engram, the Jacksonville Jaguars tight end the best value pick by Millenial Menace. Russell Wilson is the QB2 in Super Flex to Lamar Jackson and was labeled George's worst pick by Yahoo.


    Projected Record: 7-8 Millenial Menace has a floor of 6-9 and a ceiling of 10-5 after Yahoo handed a B- grade to Millenial Menace ranking them fifth among teams. Not having Jonathan Taylor for the first four games along with a quarterback tandem of Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson could keep this team out of the playoffs if another team goes 8-7 in the event that both quarterbacks perform how they did in 2022. Millenial Menace was favored in week 2 and lost which changes their projection from 8-7 to 7-8.


    Previously Ranked: 10th



  10. Gangster Squad 1-3

    Bantle Bowl Championships: 1

    Bantle Bowl VIII (2022)

    Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

    Bantle Bowl VI (2020) and (2022)

    BFFL Playoff Record: 3-5
    All five of Gangster squads playoff losses in the BFFL came to the eventual league champion when getting eliminated in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020 despite making the BFFL Playoffs in six out of eight seasons since I started calling the BFFL Championship game the Bantle Bowl before buying the eventual league champion the first Bantle Bowl trophy when working part time at T.J. Maxx. Gangster Squad missed the playoffs twice in 2017 with a fifth place finish at 7-7 and in 2021 with a sixth place finish at 8-7. Gangster Squad is the only team in the BFFL to have 0 losing seasons in the past 8 years since I started tracking the teams on the site. Gangster Squad once formerly known as Hobo Jungle went 2-2 in third place games from 2015-2019, so if we take those third place games into account Gangster Squad is actually 5-7 All Time in the playoffs, but I'm not counting a third place game as a playoff game for me since there's nothing on the line except for a bronze participation trophy courtesy of Yahoo Sports. Gangster Squad didn't win their first playoff game 2020 when when his 8-6 squad defeated a 13-1 team with the leagues best record if you decide to exclude the third place victories back in 2015 and 2016 back when my team was the one seed and had the top regular season record in the two years I finished third place. Two years later, Gangster Squad became the 2022 league champions by winning Bantle Bowl VIII in a rematch of Bantle Bowl VI where I had the best regular season record for the third time in eight years before securing my first league title.

    Manager:
    Chris Ransom

    Rival: Jason Bantle Your reigning Bantle Bowl Champions flipped a coin to decide whether H.B. Vinegar's Strokes would remain our rival or whether The Chosen Ones would be our rival fo this season. The coin landed on heads making Jason our rival for this upcoming season.

    All Time Winning Percentage: .618 81-50 is Gangster Squad's All Time Record from 2015-2023 with 81 wins in 131 total games played gives Gangster Squad a .618 All Time Winning Percentage.

    Team Summary: The league is going to have new keeper rules this season. For example if you draft the offensive rookie of the year in the final round of the draft in round seventeen, you can use a keeper on that player from 2024 to 2032 if you use a 17th, 15th, 13th, 9th, 7th, 5th, 3rd, and 1st round keeper on the player you drafted in consecutive years meaning you could keep the player you drafted in 2023 from this season all the way up to the end of the 2032-2033 NFL Season. I decided to use keepers on Josh Allen by giving up my first round pick and my backup quarterback Trevor Lawrence which only cost me an eighth round pick after going all in to get Mahomes to pair with Allen in our superflex league last year which allows you to play two quarterbacks. This resulted in my first championship thanks to Josh Jacobs and Nick Chubb's contributions in the backfield along with Mark Andrews at tight end. Want an outlier? I waited till the eighth round to pick my first wide receiver a year ago.


    Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Nick Chubb, Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, and Justin Tucker are six players from last years Championship team that are back. I could have chosen to keep Mahomes over Josh Allen, but I think Allen's supporting cast on the offensive line is stronger at the moment despite the fact that Mahomes has far more playmakers to distribute the ball to. My Bills friend Thomas and my Fantasy Football consultant both advised me to keep Mahomes over Allen and I went against their advice just for the hell of it. If Trevor Lawrence takes the league by storm in 2023, it would only cost me a sixth round keeper to reclaim Lawernce in 2024, a fourth round keeper in 2025, and a second round keeper in 2026. I'm leaning towards keeping Lawrence in 2024, but haven't made that decision official yet since the 2023 BFFL Season hasn't played out yet.


    My strategy was pretty simple. Get the most top 50 players that weren't keepers in the first five rounds of the 2023 BFFL Draft and get the most picks in the late rounds after drafting a defense and kicker much earlier than usual, so I can maximize my odds at getting a player that I can stash for years to come since I won't be able to keep Josh Allen in 2024.


    I had Allen and Lawrence in my top ten as Superflex players and decided to part ways with Patrick Mahomes since I feel like Allen will outperform Mahomes in 2023. Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Stephon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, and Nick Chubb were all in my top 10 and all five players were in play at 14. Ultimately, I decided to trade down to 18 hoping to get Diggs or Lamb. The original plan was to get CeeDee Lamb at 18 and trade up for Stephon Diggs at 19. When I traded 14 Dak Prescott got picked with Diggs going a pick later. I traded up a spot from 18 to 17 to get Lamb after Diggs was since I think Diggs or Lamb will be WR1 in the NFL this season with those two finishing ahead of Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase. Nick Chubb the tenth best player on my board was still available at 19 and wanting to get two top 10 players to pair with Allen and Lawrence in a superflex league is paramount if you want to make a run at repeating like myself.


    New additions to my roster include Miles Sanders as my RB2 for the Carolina Panthers since I picked Carolina to win the NFC South and George Kittle whose been the best tight end in the NFC the last five years. I drafted the Buffalo Bills defense. Some of the rookies I stashed included Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers in round 12, Deuce Vaughn the Dallas Cowboys rookie running back in round 16, Luke Musgrave Green Bay Packers starting tight end in round 17 as my backup to Kittle, and Jalin Hyatt the New York Giants rookie wide receiver in round 17.


    I've set my lineup for the season. Right now, the only team projected to defeat me is Field Of Dreams in week 9. To be fair, two owners haven't set lineups for their teams yet. One of those owners plays me in week 1 and Yahoo said this owner had the best draft in the league this year. This owner was last years runner up, so keep reading to find out how the 2022 BFFL runner up plans to exact their revenge in 2023.


    Projected Record: 9-6 Yahoo gave me an A- grade and projected me at 10-5. I had this team finishing anywhere between 10-5 and 14-1 with a 12-3 projection. I lost to The Chosen One's, The Avengers, and Car RamRod in three games I was projected to win, which alters my 12-3 projection to 9-6. Right now The Chosen One's at 11-4, Taco Corp at 10-5, Car RamRod at 9-6, Threat Level Midnight 9-6, and Gangster Squad 9-6 are the top 5 projected teams with Threat Level Midnight and Gangster Squad tied for the last wild card. Threat Level Midnight currently has more total points than my team which is the tiebreaker, so based on those projections, my team would be the odd man out of the playoffs.


    Previously Ranked: 7th




Why the Kansas City Chiefs Will Win: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has Donovan Smith at left tackle, Joe Thuney at left guard, Creed Humprhey at center, Trey Smith at right guard, and Jawaan Taylor starting at right tackle. Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL right now and Blaine Gabbert will now backup the two time Super Bowl MVP thanks to backup quarterback Chad Henne retiring as Kansas City cut both their third string and fourth string quarterbacks. As long as Mahomes is healthy the sky is the limit for the Kansas City Chiefs.


Outside of Donovan Smith at left tackle, I trust the rest of the offensive linemen in these roles. The crazy thing is Donovan Smith balled out in the first two preseason games against New Orleans and Arizona despite facing lackluster competition. Donovan Smith did not play in the Chiefs preseason finale against the Cleveland Browns. Prince Tega Wanaogho played right tackle in the second half of Kansas City's regular season game against Jacksonville and enters this year as the backup left tackle as well as the OT3 on Kansas City's depth chart. Lucas Niang who once started at right tackle for Kansas City as a rookie before injuries is the backup right tackle to Jawaan Taylor. Kansas City also has their 2023 third round pick Wanya Morris out of Oklahoma whose amazing in pass protection, but is a massive project as a run blocker as the number five offensive tackle on this depth chart. Kansas City has just as much offensive tackle depth as a season ago. Kansas City ruled Lucas Niang and Wanya Morris as inactives in week 1.


Kansas City has Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as their top three wide receivers. Travis Kelce is the best tight end in the NFL as well as the main wide receiver option on this offense. Backup receiver options include Ritchie James, Justin Watson, Rashee Rice, and Justyn Ross as all seven of these wide receivers made the Kansas City Chiefs final 53 man roster as expected with Ross showing flashes of that number one target that he was at Clemson when he balled out with Trevor Lawrence during the two seasons Clemson made the National Title Game. Noah Gray is the backup tight end with Blake Bell as the third string tight end. Jody Forston the front runner to win the fourth string tight end job who stepped up as a third string tight end at times during Blake Bell's injury in 2022 is out for the year and will miss all of 2023. I didn't even mention wide receiver Cornell Powell or tight end Matt Bushman who both made the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad.


Travis Kelce got ruled out for the opener, but he is returned for Patrick Mahomes twenty eighth birthday in Jacksonville in week 2. Kelce has started the past three games at tight end. Noah Gray has two years of experience as a number two tight end. Blake Bell is the third string tight end. Matt Bushman got called up from the practice squad to be the third string tight end after Kelce's injury, but will probably get sent back down to the practice squad.


Kansas City's playmakers were awful in week 1 without Travis Kelce. Something has to change in week 2 unless the Kansas City Chiefs want to play catch up in the AFC West.


Isiah Pacheco is the starting running back. Kansas City has Jerick McKinnon as the backup running back and Clyde Edwards-Helaire as their third string running back. Deneric Prince one of the top UDFA's out of Tulsa did manage to impress me at the 2023 East West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas, but he didn't make Kansas City's final roster. He does happen to be stashed on the Chiefs practice squad as an option at running back if injuries occur. With Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor being added as replacements at offensive tackle to Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie, I definitely see the Kansas City Chiefs running the ball more in 2023. The pass protection with those starters at offensive tackle looked just as good as a season ago with moderate improvements in run blocking as well which has to be encouraging if you happen to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan.


Kansas City has 2023 first round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah from Kansas State at 4-3 right end replacing Frank Clark. Kansas City signed Charles Omenihu, but he got suspended for the first six games, so Felix Anudike-Uzomah has a chance to steal the 4-3 right end job relegating Charles Omenihu to a backup 4-3 right end role. George Karlaftis Kansas City's 2022 first round pick from Purdue enters year two at 4-3 left end. Mike Danna is the backup 4-3 left end. Kansas City has Chris Jones and Derrick Nnadi the two starting 4-3 defensive tackles with guys like Tershawn Wharton, Keondre Coburn their 2023 sixth round pick out of Texas, Matt Dickerson, or Neil Farrell Jr. who the Chiefs acquired in a inner division trade with the Las Vegas Raiders as backup 4-3 defensive tackles for depth.


Kansas City has Willie Gay Jr. at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Nick Bolton at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Leo Chenal at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Kansas City has three quality starters at linebacker that can defend the run and drop back into coverage. When Kansas City runs 4-2-5 nickel Willie Gay Jr. will be the starting outside linebacker with Nick Bolton as the middle linebacker. Leo Chenal would be the backup outside linebacker to Willie Gay Jr. while former Los Angeles Chargers starter Drue Tranquill will serve as a backup to Nick Bolton. Nick Bolton missed the last two games due to an injury, but he returned to practice on Wednesday and he should be back in week 5.


Kansas City has Trent McDuffie at field cornerback, L'Jarius Sneed at boundary cornerback, Justin Reid at strong safety, and Bryan Cook their 2022 second round pick taking over for Juan Thornhill at free safety. If there is a weakness on this defense, it may be Cook since I had a fifth round grade on him projecting him as an NFL backup. Jaylen Watson is playing at nickel cornerback, Joshua Williams is playing at dime cornerback, and Darius Rush the rookie cornerback out of South Carolina as a quarter cornerback give the Kansas City Chiefs the depth at cornerback to limit opposing wide receivers from making big plays as Rush had a top 100 grade in the late third to early fourth round before being waived by the Indianapolis Colts. Kansas City also has Nic Jones their 2023 seventh round pick out of Ball State who impressed me on tape and the interview process before making the Chiefs 53 man roster. Mike Edwards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers strong safety from last year is the backup strong safety to Justin Reid with 2023 fourth round pick Chamarri Conner moving over from cornerback to free safety. Kansas City listed Darius Rush, and Nic Jones as inactives at cornerback relying on their top 4 cornerbacks from last years Super Bowl 57 roster.


Kansas City has Harrison Butker at kicker. Kansas City also has Tommy Tonwsend at punter. Ritchie James is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner.


Why the Minnesota Vikings Will Win: Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback Kirk Cousins has Christian Darrisaw at left tackle, Ezra Cleveland at left guard, Garrett Bradbury at center, Ed Ingram at right guard and Brian O'Neill at right tackle. This is an effective offensive line when fully healthy, but the Vikings do not have any depth behind these five starters. Minnesota added Dalton Risner as a backup left guard to Ezra Cleveland which gives Minnesota depth at left guard. Garrett Bradbury is out and Christian Darrisaw didn't play in week 2, but should be ready to start his first game since week 1 in week 3. Minnesota did add depth at quarterback though with Nick Mullens as their backup quarterback and Jaren Hall the quarterback out of BYU as their third string quarterback.


Justin Jefferson is a number one flanker receiver for Minnesota, but he's also the best wide receiver in the NFL. Jordan Addison is going to start out as the secondary wide receiver on this depth chart with K.J. Osborn remaining at slot receiver. T.J. Hockenson is the starting tight end, Josh Oliver is the backup tight end, and Johnny Mundt who was the number two tight end to T.J. Hockenson last year is now the third string tight end. Minnesota has last years backup running back Alexander Mattison as their starting running back. Cam Akers who Minnesota traded for is now their backup running back. Ty Chandler last years fourth string running back is now the third string running back.C.J. Ham remains the starting fullback in Minnesota.


Minnesota has depth at quarterback, running back, and tight end. However Minneosta still lacks depth on the offensive line outside of left guard and lacks depth at wide receiver if an injury occurs to Jefferson, Addison, or Osborn.


Minnesota has Harrison Phillips at 3-4 right end, Khyiris Tonga at 3-4 nose tackle, and Dean Lowry at 3-4 left end. Minnesota has some depth at 3-4 defensive end with Jonathan Bullard as their backup 3-4 defensive end to Dean Lowry and Jacquelin Roy won Minnesota's backup 3-4 nose tackle job after being the Minnesota Vikings 2023 third round pick out of LSU.


Minnesota has Marcus Davenport replacing Z'Darius Smith at 3-4 right outside linebacker with Davenport as a game time decision for Thursday in week 2. Davenport missed weeks 2 and 3 while not practicing on wednesday leading into week 4. Danielle Hunter is still starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Jordan Hicks and Ivan Pace Jr. an undrafted player from the 2023 NFL Draft are the starting at 3-4 middle linebackers with Ivan Pace Jr. having a pass rushing grade of 90 on Pro Football Focus. Troy Dye and Brian Asamoah II are the backups. D.J. Wonnum is the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker with Patrick Jones II as the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Marcus Davenport should be back in week 3.


Byron Murphy Jr. replaces Patrick Peterson as the Minnesota Vikings main field cornerback and Mekhi Blackmon Minnesota's 2023 third round pick out of USC is the number two boundary cornerback. Minnesota has Akayleb Evans their 2022 fourth round pick out of Missouri at nickel cornerback. Andrew Booth Jr. their 2022 second round pick that I had a first round grade on out of Clemson as the dime cornerback. Jay Ward Jr., Minnesota's 2023 fourth round pick out of LSU is the quarter cornerback. `Byron Murphy didn't practice on Wednesday and if he is out that means all three of Minnesota's corners will be rookies or sophomores. Mekhi Blackmon's college tape was good. Evans surprsied me as a rookie when he got the opportunity to play. He looked good in trainining camp and the preseason. Now he's reverted to the player I expected him to be. Booth amazed me in college, but has been a disappointment in the NFL so far. Minnesota has Camryn Bynum at strong safety and Harrison Smith at free safety. Minnesota has Lewis Cine as the backup strong safety after the 2022 first round pick suffered a season ending injury as a rookie and Josh Metellus is the backup free safety.


Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph is a top 10 kicker. Minnesota has question marks at punter, kick returner, and punt returner on special teams heading into the season. If all of Minnesota's players who are limited in practice get cleared to play this week, than Minnesota will have their roster at full health for week 5 for the first time since week 1 and I cannot stress how huge that is for Minnesota with every other team in the NFC North having one of their twenty two starters injured at the moment.


Prediction: Kansas City is a 3.5 point favorite at -3.5. The over or under is 52.5 with 75% of the public betting on Kansas City. The money line is and -225 for Kansas City and +185 for Minnesota. Take Kansas City to win and cover with the over at -225. Bet $275 on this game for Kansas City and win up to $500 as long as the Chiefs win by 4 or more.


Final Score Chiefs 35 Vikings 31





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless



Dallas Cowboys 3-1-0
Versus
San Francisco 49ers 4-0-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


Hank Hill from King of the Hill and assistant GM and Director Of College Scouting Dale Gribble finally got back to the playoffs since taking over for Lumberg in 2020. Dallas is 33-20 since 2020.




Here is this weeks hot take from Hank Hill.

Hey Dallas kick San Francisco's ass. These fuckers knocked us out of the playoffs two years in a row.


Why the Dallas Cowboys Will Win: Dak Prescott has Tyron Smith at left tackle, Tyler Smith at left guard, Tyler Biadasz at center, Zack Martin at right guard, and Terence Steele at right tackle. Tyler Smith was out at left guard, so Chuma Edoga started in relief of Smith at left guard. Dallas got Tyler Smith back in week 3 and lost Tyron Smith, Tyler Biadasz, and Zack Martin for the game against Arizona. Biadasz and Martin returned in week 4 though. Tyron Smith was a full practice on thursday meaning this could be the first game since 2021 where the Dallas Cowboys have their offensive line at full health. Backup quarterback Cooper Rush and third string quarterback Trey Lance can play effectively in this offense if the offensive line stays healthy. As a Dallas Cowboys fan, you should want Dak Prescott playing every game during the regular seson.


Having weapons like CeeDee Lamb as your flanker wide receiver and Brandin Cooks as your secondary wide receiver helps since Dak Prescott has two wide receivers who have experience as a number one wide receiver. Michael Gallup is the slot receiver when Dallas runs three wide receiver sets. Jalen Tolbert has made a lot more progress after hardly seeing the field as a rookie with an impressive preseason making him the number four target. Jalen Brooks a 2023 seventh round pick out of South Carolina is the number five wide receiver. KaVontae Turpin is the number six wide receiver. Dallas has four wide receivers on this depth chart with the upside to be good and has enough starters and backup options at wide receiver when Brian Schottenheimer calls three wide receiver sets as the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator. Tight end Jake Ferguson is now the starting tight end replacing Dalton Schultz who left in Free Agency after Ferguson did enough as a number two tight end during his rookie season. Luke Schoonmaker a 2023 second round pick out of Michigan won the backup tight end job. Peyton Hendershot was a reliable third string tight end last year and retains that role in Dallas.


Dallas has Tony Pollard as their starting running back after Pollard outperformed Ezekiel Elliott the last two seasons in a number two running back role. Rico Dowdle is the backup running back. Dallas drafted Kansas State runing back Deuce Vaughn in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Kansas State. Deuce Vaughn's dad is a scout on the Dallas Cowboys too. Dallas also has Ronald Jones as a fourth string running back even though he's currently suspended. Dallas has incredible depth at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end which is why I feel like the sky is the limit for the Dallas Cowboys offense as long as the offensive line stays healthy.


Dallas is moving Micah Parsons from 4-3 right outside linebacker to a LEO role at 4-3 right end and DeMarcus Lawrence remains at 4-3 left end. Dallas now has two different sack artists at edge rusher. Dallas also has Mazi Smith a 2023 first round pick out of Michigan and Osa Odighizuwa starting at 4-3 defensive tackle. Dallas has Dorance Armstrong Jr. last years starter at 4-3 right end as the backup 4-3 right end in a role that suits him much better with Sam Williams a 2022 third round pick out of Ole Miss as the backup 4-3 left end to Demarcus Lawrence Neville Gallimore and John Hankins are good backups at 4-3 defensive tackle for Dallas.


Dallas is starting Damone Clark their 2022 fifth round pick out of LSU mainly due to the fact that DeMarvion Overshown their 2023 third round pick out of Texas suffered a season ending injury in training camp. Clark came back and did well in training camp after missing his rookie season due to injuries and will play 4-3 right outside linebacker and also start at outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Leighton Vander Esch remains the starting middle linebacker in both a 4-3 and 4-2-5 nickel defense. Devin Harper a 2022 sixth round pick is the only backup linebacker on the active depth chart for Dallas largely due to Overshown's season ending injury that will keep him out for all of 2023.


Dallas has Trevon Diggs at field cornerback fresh off a contract extension. Dallas traded for Stephon Gilmore o be the boundary cornerback. Jourdan Lewis has recovered from his injury and depression after taking a personal leave from the team earlier this offseason meaning Lewis will be back at nickel cornerback. Dallas has Noah Igbinoghene at dime cornerback in dime packages with four cornerback sets. Noah Igbinoghene was a 2020 first round pick out of Auburn drafted by the Miami Dolphins that Dallas got by trading Kelvin Joseph their 2021 second round pick to the Miami Dolphins. DaRon Bland who played nickel cornerback down the stretch after Lewis got injured moves to quarter cornerback. Eric Scott Jr. a 2023 sixth round pick out of Southern Mississippi is the number six cornerback on the Dallas Cowboys depth chart.


With Trevon Diggs out for the year with a torn ACL DaRon Bland becomes the field cornerback after splitting nickel cornerback reps with Jourdan Lewis. Stephon Gilmore remains the boundary cornerback. Lewis is no the nickel cornerback. Dallas has Noah Igbinoghene at dime cornerback in dime packages with four cornerback sets. Noah Igbinoghene was a 2020 first round pick out of Auburn drafted by the Miami Dolphins that Dallas got by trading Kelvin Joseph their 2021 second round pick to the Miami Dolphins. Eric Scott Jr. a 2023 sixth round pick out of Southern Mississippi is the quarter cornerback. Bland takes over where Diggs played and everything else remains the same with Eric Scott Jr. getting promoted from number six to number five corner only in quarter situations with Trevon Diggs out of the lineup.


Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson are the starting safeties with both safeties having the versatility to play strong safety or free safety. Jayron Kearse remains the number three safety on this depth chart, but started with Donovan Wilson out due to an injury. Isreal Mukuamu a 2021 sixth round pick out of South Carolina is converted from cornerback to safety after playing cornerback in the SEC and remains the number four safety on this depth chart.


Former Notre Dame center back Brandon Aubrey is now the Dallas Cowboys kicker. I actually found an archive of my Aubrey scouting report from the 2017 MLS Super Draft when Toronto F.C. took Brandon Aubrey in the first round of the 2017 MLS Draft. After Aubrey failed in the MLS, he went to the USFL and had success as a kicker there before receiving a contract to join the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. Bryan Anger is the punter. KaVontae Turner the number six wide receiver on the Dallas Cowboys depth chart is the kick returner and punt returner for the Dallas Cowboys.


Why the San Francisco 49ers Will Win: Brock Purdy has a terrific offensive line with Trent Williams at left tackle, Aaron Banks left guard, Jake Brendel at center, Spencer Burford at right guard, and Colton McKivitz taking over for Mike McGlinchey at right tackle after learning under McGlinchey as his backup for three years. Brock Purdy needs to stay healthy because Sam Darnold is the backup. Jaylon Moore was suprisingly effective at times when filling in for Trent Williams as a backup left tackle over the last two years during the regular season. Nick Zakelj will be the backup left guard to Aaron Brooks. Jon Feliciano can be a backup on the interior offensive line at both center and right guard. Matt Pryor, who was god awful with the Colts last year is the backup right tackle to Colton McKivitz which has to be somewhat concerning after Mike McGlinchey left San Francisco. Mike McGlinchey was awful at right tackle in pass protection, but Denver still gave him the bag in Free Agency since he did well for a run blocker in his contract year.


San Francisco has Deebo Samuel as their flanker receiver, Brandon Aiyuk as their secondary receiver, and Jauan Jennings as their slot receiver. Danny Gray the number four wide receiver is still on the PUP list. San Francisco has Ronnie Bell their 2023 seventh round pick out of Michigan as the number four wide receiver, but he will probably be fifth on the depth chart once Gray returns. Ray-Ray McCloud is the sixth and final wide receiver on the 53 man depth chart, but he's the number five receiver for now until Gray comes back. San Francisco didn't have Brandon Aiyuk in week 3, but got him back in week 4.


George Kittle is San Francisco's starting tight end. Kittle is still a top 5 tight end in the NFL. Cameron Latu, San Francisco's 2023 third round pick out of Alabama is on injured reserve which is the biggest reason he's still on this roster because he was rumored to be in jeopardy of getting cut as a rookie despite the fact that Latu was my number two tight end in the 2023 NFL Draft back in January prior to the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl.


San Francisco has Christian McCaffrey as their starting running back whose considered the best running back when fully healthy after dominating in 2022 following his trade from Carolina to San Francisco. Elijah Mitchell is their backup running back after starting some as a rookie in 2021. Jordan Mason is the third string running back and Tyrion Davis-Price is the fourth string running back. San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk is the best fullback in the NFL. San Francisco has the best running back, fullback, and depth of any team in the NFL.


San Francisco 49ers 4-3 right end Nick Bosa wants to be the leagues highest paid defensive player. Nick Bosa, the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Ohio State won 2022 NFL Defensive Player Of The Year, and wants more money than Aaron Donald. Nick Bosa got paid on Thursday. Nick Bosa will start at 4-3 right end with Drake Jackson at 4-3 left end if Nick Bosa ends his holdout before week 1. If Nick Bosa doesn't show up, backup 4-3 right end Clellin Ferrell would start in place of Nick Bosa with backup 4-3 left end Robert Beal Jr. learning under Drake Jackson. Robert Beal Jr. is on injured reserve at the moment. Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead are the starters at 4-3 defensive tackle for San Francisco. Javon Kinlaw, San Francisco's 2020 first round pick who started for three years after replacing DeForest Buckner out of South Carolina is now a backup defensive tackle. Kevin Givens one of San Francisco's backup defensive tackles last year is remains the number four defensive tackle on this depth chart.


San Francisco has Dre Greenlaw at 4-3 right outside linebacker and Fred Warner at 4-3 middle linebacker. These two start in these respective roles regardless of whether San Francisco runs a 4-3 base defense or a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Oren Burks will start at 4-3 left outside linebacker, but will be the backup 4-3 outside linebacker in 4-2-5 packages. Dee Winters, San Francisco's 2023 sixth round pick out of TCU that I had a third round grade on actually won a backup linebacker job where he will be a backup to Greenlaw in 4-3 packages and a backup to Warner at middle linebacker in 4-2-5 packages. Jalen Graham, San Francisco's 2023 seventh round pick out of Purdue will be the backup 4-3 left outside linebacker to Oren Burks and would only play situationally on 4-3 plays if something happened to Burks.


San Francisco has Charvarius Ward at field cornerback, Deommodore Lenoir at boundary cornerback, and Isaiah Oliver Atlanta's boundary cornerback at nickel cornerback. Ambry Thomas, San Francisco's 2021 third round pick is the current dime cornerback at the moment due to injuries to Darrell Luter Jr. being injured. The good news for San Francisco is their top three cornerbacks are fully healthy right now. Talanoa Hufanga returns at strong safety with Tashaun Gipson returning at free safety for his second season in San Francisco. Ji'Ayir Brown the San Francisco 49ers 2023 third round pick out of Penn State is the best backup that San Francisco has on their secondary as he's currently learning under Gipson at free safety.


San Francisco has Jake Moody their 2023 third round pick out of Michigan starting at kicker with his competition Zane Gonzalez still on the injured reserve list. Zane Gonzalez had two straight season ending injuries in Carolina, so its kind of baffling that San Francisco traded for him. Mitch Wishnowsky is San Francisco's punter after being a 2019 fourth round pick after the former Utah punter won the Ray Guy Award in 2018. Ray-Ray McCloud remains the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner for San Francisco.


Prediction: San Francisco is a 3.5 point favorite at -3.5. The over or under is 45 with 51% of the public betting on San Francisco. The money line is +800 for Dallas and -1,300 for San Francisco. Take San Francisco to win and cover with the over at -1,300. Bet $2,700 on this game for San Francisco and win up to $4,000 as long as the 49ers win by 4 or more.


Final Score 49ers 28 Cowboys 24





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Green Bay Packers 2-2-0
Versus
Las Vegas Raiders 1-3-0


Chris Ransom's Pick


I just cannot stand ESPN's Monday Night Football Coverage. Monday Night Football On KDKA is back with Bob Pompieni, Mark Madden, Andrew Filiponi, and newcommer Rich Walsh. Tonight the gang is in Las Vegas.


Pompieni: Welcome to Monday Night Football. Bob Pompieni along with Mark Madden, Andrew Filiponi, and Rich Walsh covering ESPN Monday Night Football on KDKA from Las Vegas. Mark what are your thoughts on this game?

Madden: Davante Adams is gonna go off on his former team tonight. If neither Jaire Alexander or Eric Stokes plays, Adams is guaranteed 200 receiving yards, and he might push for 300 receiving yards. I love Las Vegas tonight.

Filiponi: I loved watching the Raiders get their ass kicked by the Steelers a few weeks ago. Give me Green Bay.

Walsh: I will take the Raiders. Jimmy Garoppolo had a lot of playoff success against the Packers.

Pompieni: Indeed Rich Walsh. I like the Packers since they got 10 full days to prepare for this game.

Madden: Green Bay should have more fans in Allegiant Stadium this week after Detroit Lions fans took over Lambeau Field. Those Lions fans stormed the castle of Lambeau Field like it was the Berlin Wall.

Pompieni: Ok no more Germany references. Tonights game is sponsored by the Luxor. It's a hotel in Las Vegas shaped like a pyramid.

Madden: No tonights game is brought to you by the Las Vegas Supermax prison facility. The official home of Chandler Jones and Henry Ruggs III.

Pompieni: Alright let's get set for kickoff. We'll be back with kickoff after we show ads for the Luxor. I refuse to promote a damn prison. That's where I draw the line with Mark Madden's weekly shenanigans.





Why the Green Bay Packers Will Win: Jordan Love takes over for Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Green Bay has David Bahktiari at left tackle, Elgton Jenkins at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Jon Runyan Jr. at right guard, and Zach Tom at right tackle. Green Bay placed David Bahktiari on injured reserve prior to week 4.


Green Bay will have Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Royce Newman at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Sean Rhyan at right guard, and Zach Tom at right tackle on the offensive line for the next four weeks unless left guard Elgton Jenkins or right guard Jon Runyan Jr. returns within that timespan.


All three of the Green Bay Packers 2022 draft picks at wide receiver are the top three wide receivers on this depth chart. Christian Watson, Green Bay's 2022 second round pick out of North Dakota State finished his rookie season strong after missing the early portion of the season with injuries and enters year two as the flanker receiver and number one target, but he missed the first three weeks despite being a full practice last week. Watson has been limited in practice this week, but hasn't been cleared to play yet. Romeo Doubs Green Bay's 2022 fourth round pick out of Nevada is the secondary wide receiver. Jayden Reed Green Bay's 2023 second round pick out of Michigan State beat out Samari Toure for the slot receiver job in the preseason.


Samari Toure Green Bay's 2022 seventh round pick out of Nebraska that Jason Bantle mocked to Green Bay in the third round of his 2022 NFL Mock Draft has made strides in year two and almost won the slot receiver job, so he should be the number four wide receiver on this depth chart. Dontayvion Wicks another rookie from the 2023 NFL Draft is the number five receiver on the depth chart.


Green Bay has Luke Musgrave their 2023 second round pick out of Oregon State as the starting tight end. Tucker Kraft was a starting tight end on South Dakota State before the Packers picked him in the third round of this years NFL Draft. Tucker Kraft managed to beat out Tyler Davis for the backup tight end job which led to Tyler Davis getting cut by the Green Bay Packers.


Green Bay still has Aaron Jones as their starting running back and A.J. Dillon as the backup running back. Aaron Jones missed week 2 after getting injured in week 1, and Jones is out once again in week 3. I don't like Green Bay's third string running back, but Josiah Deguara is a decent fullback option if Green Bay opts to use the former Cincinnati fullback at his natural position rather than an extra tight end.


Green Bay is moving Kenny Clark from nose tackle to 3-4 right end, Devonte Wyatt one of Green Bay's two 2022 first round picks out of Georgia is at 3-4 left end, and Terdarrelle Slaton is the starting the nose tackle Florida drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft is starting at 3-4 nose tackle after developing under Kenny Clark as a backup for two years, but he's now known as T.J. Slaton. Ourlads reported this back in May, but now the Green Bay Packers team website confirmed this on their updated depth chart. Colby Wooden will be the backup 3-4 right end to Kenny Clark with the rookie out of Auburn learning under Kenny Clark and Karl Brooks the Bowling Green defensive tackle playing 3-4 left end as a backup to Devonte Wyatt. Green Bay doesn't have a backup 3-4 nose tackle to T.J. Slaton, but could always move Kenny Clark back to his natural position if an injury occurred. Doing this would mean that Green Bay would have to start Karl Brooks or Colby Wooden if something were to happen to Slaton.


Green Bay has Preston Smith starting at 3-4 right outside linebacker with Rashan Gary starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Green Bay has D'Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker as their two starters at 3-4 middle linebacker. With D'Vondre Campbell out, it is looking like Green Bay's 2021 sixth round pick Isaiah McDuffie who played 4-3 right outside linebacker at Boston College when Matt Milano left could be getting the start. Honestly, if I were Green Bay's defensive coordinator, I'd explore moving Preston Smith inside allowing Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness, Green Bay's 2023 first round pick to play the edge at 3-4 outside linebacker. This way Green Bay can still utilize Preston Smith to his strengths as a run stuffer and coverage linebacker while blitzing with Gary and Van Ness.


Lukas Van Ness is going to be a situational pass rusher as a backup to Preston Smith at 3-4 right outside linebacker, but I have to believe he will start across from Smith at 3-4 left outside linebacker if Rashan Gary suffers a season ending injury. Green Bay drafted Lukas Van Ness out of Iowa with the thirteenth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Green Bay can release Preston Smith post June 1st in 2024 and save $12.4 million pairing Lukas Van Ness with Rashan Gary in 2024 if Gary bounces back from his season ending injury riddled 2022 season in 2023.


Green Bay has Jaire Alexander as their field cornerback as the Green Bay Packers 2018 first round pick out of Louisville is still the teams top cornerback, but after playing in the first two weeks, he will miss his first game of the regular season in week 3. Jaire Alexander also missed week 4 along with Eric Stokes. Rasul Douglas is playing boundary cornerback with 2021 first round pick Eric Stokes still on the NFL injured list as Eric Stokes is now out for the first four games of the 2023 NFL Season. Keisean Nixon, Green Bay's dime cornerback when all three cornerbacks are healthy still has to play nickel cornerback until Eric Stokes comes back leaving a glaring weakness in this defense at nickel cornerback. Even though I wasn't sold on Nixon initially, he did well enough to be named defensive captain for Green Bay in their home opener against the Saints. Maybe Nixon is finally playing well enough to remain on this roster. Green Bay has Rudy Ford at strong safety replacing Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage back at free safety.


Anders Carlson the younger brother of Daniel Carlson replaces Mason Crosby as Green Bay drafted Auburn's kicker in the 2023 NFL Draft. Pat O'Donnell is the punter. Keisean Nixon Green Bay's nickel cornerback until Eric Stokes returns from his injury is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner.


Why the Las Vegas Raiders Will Win: The Las Vegas Raiders were competitive in 2022 mainly due to quarterback Derek Carr, running back Josh Jacobs, wide receiver Davante Adams, and left tackle Kolton Miller. Those were the impact players and star players on this offense and it cannot be more blatantly obvious as to why that is the case.


Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis, Las Vegas Raiders GM Dave Zeigler, and Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels all decided to bench Derek Carr for the final two games before releasing him. Now Jimmy Garoppolo whose had two season ending injuries in the past three years is your starting quarterback. Most Raiders fans I know believe Jimmy Garoppolo will thrive here because he thrived as a backup in New England before thriving with the San Francisco 49ers. Both of those teams had strong offensive lines, and the Las Vegas Raiders happen to have one of the leagues worst offensive lines.


Las Vegas has Kolton Miller at left tackle, but that's the only bright spot on the offensive line. Dylan Parham, the Las Vegas Raiders 2022 third round pick did well as a run blocker, but gave up the second most quarterback hurries in the NFL as a rookie left guard. Parham has to improve as a pass blocker in year 2. Andre James gave up 24 quarterback hurries at center last year despite retaining the starting center job. Alex Bars gave up the tenth most quarterback hurries at right guard, but he got replaced by former Buffalo Bills backup Greg Van Roten who played 354 offensive snaps due to injuries while giving up 0 sacks in 2022 when filling in for Mitch Morse at center. Jermaine Elumenor wasn't bad as a right tackle in his second season with the Raiders as he finished in the top 32 among offensive tackles on Pro Football Focus after failing at offensive tackle with three different NFL teams prior to joining the Raiders, but I'm not entirely sold on him as a long-term bookend to Kolton Miller either while his backup Thayer Munford really impressed me in limited snaps at right tackle as a rookie coming out of Ohio State.


The Raiders opted to remain patient with their current core of offensive linemen rather than reload with new blockers and frankly I don't agree with that decision. Jimmy Garoppolo has less mobility and durability than Derek Carr despite the fact that he was in the 2014 NFL Draft and currently has two more Super Bowl rings than Derek Carr which is why I see the Raiders struggling for the time being.


Las Vegas has weapons in the passing game to make up for a lackluster offensive line. Davante Adams is arguably a top 5 wide receiver in the NFL and is going to be the primary flanker wide receiver in Las Vegas once again. Jakobi Meyers is the secondary wide receiver after Josh McDaniels signed the former New England Patriots wide receiver in Free Agency. Hunter Renfrow who was the number two receiver when the Raiders made the playoffs two years ago after Jon Gruden got fired is the slot receiver. Tre Tucker, the Las Vegas Raiders 2023 third round pick out of Cincinnati did well enough to get the Raiders to cut Phillip Dorsett from the active roster. DeAndre Carter was the number five wide receiver on the Los Angeles Chargers before a season ending injury and he's gonna play the same role with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023.


Austin Hooper who lost the starting tight end job to David Njoku on the Cleveland Browns in 2021 and Chigoziem Okonkwo on the Tennessee Titans in 2022 might be the first tight end to lose the starting tight end job with three different teams if Michael Mayer supplants him later in the regular season. Austin Hooper is currently the starting tight end on the Las Vegas Raiders which is somewhat suprrising since the Las Vegas Raiders drafted my top tight end Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame in the 2023 NFL Draft in the second round. Michael Mayer should supplant Austin Hooper by the end of the season, but he's been relatively quiet in training camp this year. That's somewhat concerning after trading starting tight end Darren Waller to the New York Giants before letting Foster Moreau walk in Free Agency to re-unite with former quarterback Derek Carr.


Josh Jacobs led the NFL in rushing yards in 2022 despite having one of the worst offensive lines. Josh Jacobs got franchise tagged and finally ended his holdout. Backup running back Zamir White is the current starting running back until Josh Jacobs shows up. Ameer Abdullah last years backup running back is expected to be the third stringer behind Josh Jacobs and Zamir White. Brandon Bolden remained the fourth string running back.


I don't like the Raiders depth on the offensive line, but the supporting cast of playmakers isn't bad. If Jimmy Garoppolo goes down, then Aidan O'Connell would be the backup with Brian Hoyer as the third stringer. Aidan O'Connell, the Raiders 2023 fourth round pick actually started


Las Vegas has Malcolm Koonce at 4-3 right end and Maxx Crosby at 4-3 left end. Tyree Wilson is currently the backup 4-3 defesive end after being the Raiders 2023 first round pick. Bilal Nichols started all 17 games with the Las Vegas Raiders last year at 4-3 defensive tackle with Jerry Tillery starting next to him after the Chargers released Jerry Tillery. With the Raiders ruling out Chandler Jones in week 1, it means Malcolm Koonce will start at 4-3 right end next to Maxx Crosby with Tyree Wilson being used as a situational pass rusher.


Las Vegas let their best linebacker Denzel Perryman walk. Divine Deablo was a safety coming out of Virginia Tech, but he did well at outside linebacker regardless of whether the Raiders ran a 4-3 or nickel defense. Deablo looks promising, but this will be the year that determines whether he's an asset or a liability at 4-3 right outside linebacker. Robert Spillaine was a backup linebacker on Pittsburgh before Mike Tomlin benched 2019 first round pick Devin Bush. Robert Spillaine feels like a downgrade versus Denzel Perryman for this reason.


Nate Hobbs did well as a number one cornerback during his rookie season despite being a 2021 fifth round pick out of Illinois getting the Raiders to the playoffs despite Jon Gruden being fired. Hobbs missed some games with injuries, but is still the field cornerback. Marcus Peters the boundary cornerback on the Baltimore Ravens a season ago is now the boundary cornerback on the Las Vegas Raiders and this move is the one move that I can get behind after the Raiders waited until the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft to pick a cornerback. Jakorian Bennett, the Las Vegas Raiders 2023 fourth round pick out of Maryland is going to start at nickel cornerback right away as a rookie. Brandon Facyson who was the boundary cornerback last year got demoted to dime cornerback and is now the number four cornerback on the Las Vegas Raiders depth chart. Amik Robertson was the quarter cornerback a year ago and remains in that role. Marcus Epps the starting strong safety on the Philadelphia Eagles is now a Raider. Tre'von Moehrig the Las Vegas Raiders 2021 second round pick out of TCU enters year three as the starting free safety. Las Vegas doesn't have any depth at safety.


Daniel Carlson is a top 10 kicker, but not a top 5 kicker. DeAndre Carter was the kick returner and punt returner on the Los Angeles Chargers before his season ending injury and will have a similar role with the Las Vegas Raiders.


Prediction: Las Vegas is a 1 point favorite at -1. The over or under is 45.5 with 79% of the public betting on Las Vegas. The money line is +105 for Green Bay and -115 for Las Vegas. I like Green Bay to win and to cover with the over at +105. Bet $195 on this game for Green Bay and win up to $300 as long as the Packers win or tie.


Final Score Packers 30 Raiders 27 OT





Who Everyone Else Picked








Tanya Holmes Oren Shiri Jesse Lucas Jason Bantle Joseph Potter Andrew Kermish Lisa Donovan Tracy Porter Wes Langley Brian Bayless






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